CUHK: Five Decades in Pictures

28 第二個十年： 1973–1982 T he second decade of the University’s existence coincided with a rapidly changing period in world history. There was economic upheaval caused by the oil crisis. Large shifts in people’s social values and attitudes were also evident. In Hong Kong it was a time of booming economic growth with an annual GDP of over 8 per cent, helping it become one of the ‘Asian Tigers’ and a global financial hub. Changes were also afoot in Hong Kong society. The government’s implementation of the New Town Development Programme in 1973 led to the tremendous pace of transformation and urbanization of several new towns in the following decade, including the small neighbouring rural township of Shatin. It was against this backdrop that the third report on the development of CUHK by the founding Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Choh-ming Li, was published. Aptly titled ‘A New Era Begins 1975–1978’, it signified the development and expansion of the University during its second decade of existence, and the challenges it faced in responding dynamically to the needs of the local community and external economic pressures while staying true to the vision, objectives and aspirations on which the University was founded. The report also symbolized the passing of the torch as Professor Ma Lin took the reins as the University’s Vice-Chancellor after the retirement of Dr. Li in 1978. Much of the impetus for the ‘new era’ came from the second Fulton Report , a seminal document that laid down the foundations for the present-day organization and structure of the University. In its formative years the University was a loose federation of individual Colleges, each with its own teaching departments and staff. The most important recommendations in the Report , which were later enacted into law through The Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance 1976, called for the formalization of the university- college relationship and setting the respective roles of the University and the Colleges. Academic departments from different Colleges were integrated under the University as part of its role to provide ‘subject orientated teaching’. Teaching and staffing fell under the purview of the University, leading to better resource management and ability to set long-term goals for future growth. One concrete example of such consolidation was the development of educational pedagogy and the increasing use of instructional equipment to make teaching more professional and engaging. The redefined role of the Colleges was to provide ‘student orientated teaching’ by fostering the intellectual, moral and personal development of students. This included the provision of communal living spaces, pastoral and counselling support, greater teacher- student interactions, as well as social and athletic activities that engendered camaraderie among students. This unique arrangement, which is still practised to the present day and which distinguishes CUHK from other universities in Hong Kong, provided a balance of knowledge transmission through formal teaching and learning, and student empowerment to engage in the process of self-discovery. The Report also emphasized the continuity of CUHK’s aspiration to be an international university that integrates Chinese and Western intellectual and cultural traditions. This is