Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2004

• Prof. Wei J u n c h e n g, professor in the Department of Mathematics, is one of two mathematicians from Asian universities who have been ranked among the top 50 of the world's most frequently cited mathematicians in 1993-2003. The ranking was reflected by the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) which is compiled by the Institute for Science Information and covers 5,900 of the world's leading scholarly science and technical journals covering more that 150 disciplines. SCI-E is not only a reference tool for research but also an indicator of research achievement. Prof. Wei was ranked 48th among mathematicians worldwide. • Prof. Fanny Cheung Miu- ching, professor of psychology, has been awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals by the University of Minnesota. • Prof. Agnes Sui-yin Chan of the Department of Psychology was awarded the Early Career Award in Clinical Neuro- psychology by the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 40 in 2004. The APA is one of the most prestigious associations with a long history in the field of psychology, and Division 40 is the second largest division in the association. This award is given annually to a psychologist at the early stage of his/ her career who has made distinguished contributions to neuropsychology. • Prof. Hu Shiu Ying, honorary professor of Chinese Medicine, was awarded the Leader of the Year 2003 Award in the Education/Academic Category by Sing Tao Newspaper Group on 26th February 2004. Cost-saving Measures to Cope with Budget Cuts A s a result of a drastic reduction in UGC subvention for 2004-5, the University will be faced with a budget shortfall of $384 million in the coming year, representing an overall funding reduction of 12.3 per cent over 2003-4. To tackle the steep cut, a series of cost- saving measures were formulated and approved by the University Council for implementation in April 2004. Those measures related to managing staff costs include asking staff members to take no-pay leave, reappointment from full-time to non-full-time status, and reduction of the University's contributions to retirement schemes and contract-end gratuity on a voluntary basis. They were designed with an objective to keep as many posts as possible. A voluntary separation scheme and a mandatory separation scheme would also be introduced by individual departments if they saw the need to do so. From December 2003 to March 2004, the University management conducted extensive consultations through a variety of channels and held discussions with both teaching and non- teaching units over proposals to cope with the impending budget cut. Close liaison with the two staff associations was also maintained and suggestions put forward by the associations were seriously considered and adopted. The measures thus represent the general consensus reached with the two staff associations in a spirit of shouldering difficulties together. News in Brief 4 9