Bulletin Summer‧Autumn 1992

A New O ffice to P r omo t e Academ i c L i nkage Ac t i v i t i es D u r i n g the Spr i ng o f 1991, a special committee appointed by the vice-chancellor and representing various un it s and aspects o f the Un iver si ty 's linkage activities met extensively to revi ew the Un i ver si ty 's external links and exchange programmes, and to consider f u t u r e developments and prospects. Wha t f i n a l l y resulted was the establishment o f a new Office o f Academi c Li nks in September 1991 to encourage and support, in a more coordinated and cost-effective manner, the activities o f i nd i vi dual academic uni ts i n their academic links programmes. The Importance of Aca demic Linkage Activities In his fifth open letter to the U n iv e rs ity com m u n ity , issued in N o v em b e r 1991, the v ic e - chan ce llo r emphasizes the im portance o f global linkages to the development o f this un ive rsity, saying, 'Academ ic linkage activ ities are o f critical importance to this university especially at this juncture in our development, and to the development o f Hong Kong as a whole. I am convinced that they w ill create better options fo r staff and students alike. Moreover, they constitute one o f the surest ways to maintain and raise our academic standards and improve our educational quality. We shall be able to clearly demonstrate the importance o f academic freedom in the worldw ide context.' A New Policy Committee and Its Executive Arm To enable such ideals to be realized, the University created a Committee on Academic Links, charged with formulating policies and long-term objectives fo r establishing and maintaining academic ties worldwide. The committee replaced the former Senate Committee on International Programmes and is chaired by a pro-vice-chancellor. Its mandate is to pursue forward planning and to set priorities, when appropriate, for the development of academic links at the University. The committee is also charged with exploring and expanding resources to support linkage activities that enhance the academic standing and com petitive position of the University, as well as setting and maintaining quality standards and procedures for various academic links pro grammes. The committee meets every four to six weeks to pursue work under its terms of reference and to consider and approve new inter- institutional agreements of various kinds proposed by relevant units. Since its founding, the committee has addressed a number of key policy issues related to the Univer sity's external relations and has Committee on Academic Links 1992 Chairman: Prof. Ambrose K ing Members: Prof. C.N. Chen Dr. H.H. Ho Prof. Lee Kam Hon Prof. H.C. Kuan Prof. S .W .T am Prof. Kenneth Young U niversity Registrar (ex-officio) D irector, Hong Kong Institute o f Asian-Pacific Studies (ex-officio) Director, O ffice o f Inter national Studies Pro grammes (e x-o fficio Director, New Asia - - Yale-in- China Chinese Language Centre (ex-officio) Secretary: D irector ， O ffice o f Academic Links 14