Newsletter No. 60

CUHK NEWSLETTER To Encourag e Staf f Participatio n i n College Activitie s To motivate staff members to participate in college life, the University has for some time specified contribution to college activities as one of the criteria for teacher substantiation or promotion. Prof. Yeung fully endorses this practice, but he is also aware of the difficulty in its implementation: 'The colleges are not empowered to supervise the academics; their substantiation or otherwise, and their promotion, are decisions made at their respective departments. Thus I think this criterion is but of limited use at the moment, as the colleges have not been included among the controlling factors with regard to teachers' careers.' So in what other ways will Prof. Yeung encourage his colleagues to take on more college duties? He said with a smile, ' I usually start by tackling their special skills.' As a matter of fact Prof. Yeung has, since his installation as head of Shaw, been dining with various academics in his college to find out their interests and special skills. Using this knowledge, he plans activities which help to promote staff-student relations. For example, he will arrange a teacher with experience in scuba-diving to be in charge of scuba- diving activities. In this way the teacher can contribute his expertise to the college's extracurricular activities whereas students will have the opportunity to be exposed to the company of teachers outside their own departments. Subsequently, they will have extended not only their interests but, more importantly, their perspectives and interpersonal relations. Prof. Yeung is seriously looking into college dinners as occasions for teachers and students to meet and mingle, and a survey of student opinion will soon be conducted. In view of Shaw's lack of outdoor sports facilities, he has also proposed to the University that the space adjacent to Tennis Courts 8 9 and 10 be developed into a multi-purpose sports field and an additional set of tennis courts for Shaw members. A reply from the University administration is expected to arrive soon. What Constitute s th e Sha w 'Spirit' ? While it is common knowledge at The Chinese University that New Asia College emphasizes Confucian and humanistic traditions, Chung Chi College is founded on western Christian values, and United College is representative of the practical, entrepreneurial spirit of Hong Kong, Shaw College has yet to define its characteristics and 'spirit' . Again with a smile Prof. Yeung told us that college character and college spirit will only come with time. He added that Shaw has only been seven years in existence and is still in the process of finding a niche where it can best function to serve the University and Hong Kong in the long term. Prof. Yeung revealed that, as Registrar a few years ago, he had proposed research in science and technology and academic liaisons with China as the two major areas of development for Shaw when drafting the University's triennial plan. He said, 'Sir Run Run Shaw, patron of the college, is a great benefactor of higher education in China and enjoys great prestige there. So we have had a lot of exchange and liaison programmes with Chinese educational institutions. Furthermore, Prof. C. N. Yang is a member of Shaw, and his assistance would help tremendously in promoting science and technology research at the college. So we did think about the possibility NO.60 NOVEMBER 1994 12