Newsletter No. 5

CUHK Newsletter CUHK Book of Records The Wo r k i ng Party Wh i ch He ld the Largest Number of Meetings Very probably no working group, past or present, has held more meetings than the Working Party on Educational Policy and University Structure, From its inception in 1974 to thepublication of itsfinal report in mid 1975, over 60full meetings and a number of sub-committee meetings were held. I t is customary for the University to set up working parties to deal with specific tasks. One example is the Planning and Implementation Committee for Architecture set up in mid 1989 to prepare for the establishment of a Department of Architecture in 1991-92. Working groups normally have to hold a series of meetings before proposals and recommendations can be drawn up for the University's consideration. The number of meetings will depend on the complexity of the problems involved, and therefore it is difficult to estimate how many w i l l be needed. The Working Party on Educational Policy and University Structure began work in February 1974 with a mandate to consider and make recommendations on all basic educational policy matters, especially those concerning undergraduate programmes and structural changes. After careful deliberation, this group made two major proposals. First, they advised that teaching departments belonging to the same discipline, but at that time belonging to different colleges, should be integrated into single departments. This group also recommended that teachers at the University should play an important part in the decision-making processes at all levels of the University. Both these suggestions were later fully endorsed in the 1976 Fulton Report, an important document in the development of the University. The working party was appointed with the following membership: chairing the group was Dr. Ying-shih Yu, with Mr. N. H. Young acting as secretary and Dr. L. H. Kwan as deputy secretary. Academic staff serving as members included Mr. Lee Yim, Prof. Hsing Mo-huan, Prof. Ma Lin, Mr. Wang Teh-chao, Prof. Sutu Hsin, Dr. Chang Hson-mou, Dr. Chen Fong-ching, Dr. Ambrose Y. C. King, and Dr. Philip Fu. There were three other student members. A ll these committee members generously devoted their time and energy, meeting on an average of nearly once per week to discuss important issues of educational policy and university structure. Not only were the meetings numerous; they were also very long. It was not infrequent that meetings which began in the afternoon would end at 8 or 9 p.m. The deputy secretary for the working party, Dr. L. H. Kwan, recalled that on many occasions he had to stay behind in the office after the meetings to sort out the agenda papers and minutes, and therefore he couldn't leave until after midnight, when the main entrance to the Administration Building would be locked. Then he would need to loudly call out the name of the watchman, who would emerge from some part of the building with the latch-key. ‘Not even once did he fail to respond to my call,’ Dr. Kwan says, no matter how late.' That watchman (Mr. Chang K i Choi) still guards the Administration Building today. Was being a member of the Working Party on Educational Policy and University Structure a very taxing responsibility? All members had to work very hard discussing a wide range of issues pertaining to the organization and curriculum of the University. Dr. Kwan says he learnt a lot from such meetings and that it was a worthwhile experience. Another gain was that his Mandarin improved a lot after the meetings because members had to use that language to converse, whether or not they were able to do so fluently. One who could converse fluently in R.P. Mandarin was Professor Ma Lin, and members joked that he should run a Mandarin course for them. Whatever the gains obtained by members of the Working Committee on Educational Policy and University Structure, the University benefited from their devotion. The frequent meetings and hard work of this working group resulted in changes which have become history to us today. One working group with the potential to break this record of the most numerous meetings is the Working Group on Curriculum Review. Since its establishment in February 1989 to late March 1990, some 50 meetings were held, and the group is likely to continue to meet until the flexible credit unit system is fully implemented. This working group is smaller in size, consisting of only three members: Prof. Ambrose King, Dr. P. W. Liu, Ms. Linda Hu (until February 1990), and Mrs. S. W. Ho (from March 1990). 11