Newsletter No. 58

CUHK NEWSLETTER Prof. Lee Shiu-hung, Community and Family Medicine Prof. Lee's objective is to develop his department into 'a regional centre of excellence in public health.' Prof. Lee Shiu-hung retired from the position of Director of Health only last June. He said, 'While I have retired from the government I do not intend to be put to rest. I am most willing to contribute where my efforts are wanted.' Thus when the chair of community medicine at the University fell vacant, Prof. Lee immediately indicated his interest. Prof. Lee joined what was then known as the Medical and Health Department in 1960. With 34 years of experience in community medicine, he has served numerous local and international public health organizations as chairman or director, and still maintains close links with the business community, international health organizations, and public health ministries in many overseas countries. He said, 'My experience and liaison with external organizations will help the community at large to know the department better and facilitate the exchange of views, opinions and research results. In that way we can hope to set more research projects in conjunction with outside organizations and to promote professional training and postgraduate programmes for community-based physicians. Furthermore, good connections with the community will also mean more effective fund-raising efforts to provide for public lecture series and scholarships. These are all conducive to raising the standard of teaching and the department's academic status, and will help us become the centre of excellence that we aspire to.' Prof. Lee continues, 'The health care system in Hong Kong is undergoing structural changes, and the focus is gradually being shifted from hospital care to community-based medical and health care, which comprises day care, health promotion and preventive medicine. Our department, as training ground for community-based physicians, should adjust itself to accommodate changes and challenges posed by society in the years ahead.' To acquaint himself with various aspects of the University, Prof. Lee has been actively liaising with many departments and units. He will then hold meetings with his colleagues to ascertain the department's research strengths and to determine its development objectives. Prof. S. K. Lau, Sociology 'It came all of a sudden but I felt obliged to acquiesce .' That is how Prof. S. K. Lau described his appointment as department chairman. He frankly admitted that his participation in the work of the Working Committee of Preparing for the Hong Kong Special Administration Region Preparatory Committee had already thrown many research plans into disarray, and he would not have accepted the chairmanship if the other two professors in sociology had not already been tied up with administrative work at University headquarters. Prof. Lau jokingly said that becoming the department chairman might be a turning point for him as, during his 19-year association with the University, he had had limited administrative duties and had spent most of his time on teaching and research. He suggests that, in order to motivate colleagues, raise efficiency, and maintain the tradition of equality for all, he will allow the department to be run by a collective leadership. He also notes that everything is in very good shape in his department and that Dr. Cheung Yuet-wah, the department secretary, will take care of day-to-day matters while he will concentrate on human resources and academic decisions. How this is going to work remains to be seen, but Prof. Lau is somewhat concerned that nowadays more and more burdens are being heaped on university teachers: on the one hand the improvement of teaching and research always remains a target, on the other hand public duties and administrative work are ever on the increase. For Prof. Lau, the greatest challenge for the time being is how his department may progress and develop on the solid groundwork that has been laid. The Sociology Department of CUHK is not only the oldest in Hong Kong, it is also the most developed in all Chinese communities around the world: localization of teaching staff was achieved as early as the mid-seventies, and at about the same time surveys and research on local issues began. In recent years the recruitment of academics has been satisfactory, and so there are no worries about continuity. Research undertaken by staff members is broad- NO.58 SEPTEMBER 1994 10