Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1996

VICECHANCELLORDESIGNATE Prof. Arthur K. C. Li to Lead the University from August 1996 I n October 1995 the University Council announced the appointment of Prof. Arthur K. C. Li as vice- chancellor of the University with effect from 1st August 1996. He will succeed Prof. Charles K. Kao after the latter's retirement on 31st July. A Search Committee was established in November 1994 to advise the University Council on the appointment of Prof. Kao's successor. After a worldwide search and having rigorously considered the 30 nominations and applications received, the Search Committee unanimously recommended to the University Council the appointment of Prof. Arthur K. C. Li as the next vice-chancellor of the University. An internationally renowned surgeon, Prof. Li was born into the fourth generation of a well- established Hong Kong family. He had a classical Chinese upbringing and was educated in Hong Kong up to secondary level. Nurtured in the spirit of service much valued by his family, Prof. Li chose to pursue a medical career and undertook the broader Natural Sciences Tripos path to medicine provided by Cambridge University. He continued his postgraduate training in England until a scholarship enabled him to work at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he furthered his specialist training in hepatobiliary and upper gastrointestinal surgery. In 1980 he was appointed consultant at the Royal Free Hospital in London. The following year he obtained his MD degree from Cambridge. Early in his career Prof. Li was awarded the European Society for Surgical Research Prize (1980) and the Moynihan Medal of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (1982), both highly coveted awards in the field of surgery. Subsequently he was granted honorary fellowships of several surgical colleges and associations, and honorary professorships at many academic institutions. His efforts in research have led to the publication of over 200 original articles in peer review journals, numerous book chapters and abstracts. Prof. Li joined The Chinese University in 1982 as the founding chair of surgery. He has since brought the Department of Surgery to the ranks of the most recognized surgical centres in the world. In 1992 Prof. Li was elected by his colleagues to take on the deanship of the Medical Faculty, which has since gone from strength to strength. New teaching departments, research centres, and specialist clinics have since been established. Members of the faculty have broken new grounds in different areas of medicine: cancer treatment, liver transplant for children, paediatric bone-marrow transplant, new reconstructive techniques in ear surgery, laparoscopic surgical techniques, and assisted-human reproduction techniques. A large number of research projects initiated by them have attracted both public funding and private donations. Over the past 14 years, Prof. Li has made extensive contributions not only to medicine but also to teaching, research, and administration in the University. He was appointed a member of the University Council in 1983, and has served on the Senate, various key committees of the University, the Board of Trustees of United College, and its Assembly of Fellows. He has raised more than 180 million dollars for the development of both the Faculty of Medicine and the University. Prof. Li is also active in public service. He is president of the College of Surgeons of Hong Kong and has served other medicine-related bodies, such as the Hospital Authority, the Medical Council of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, the Hospital Governing Committee of the United Christian Hospital, and the United Christian Medical Services. He was once a member of the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee, the Education Commission, and the Technology Committee, and currently sits on a number of charitable trusts supported by very large endowment funds. Prof. Li is also a Hong Kong Affairs Adviser to China, and a member of Hong Kong Special Administration Region Preparatory Committee. •