Newsletter No. 79

Four Made Emer i tus Professors On the recommendation of the Senate and in accordance with Statute 21 of the University Ordinance, the University Council has approved the award of the title of emeritus professor to four retired professors — Prof. S. T. Chang, Prof. S. W. Tam, Prof. Baysung Hsu, and Prof. T.B. Lin, with effect from 29th November 1995. Prof. S.T. Chang has been awarded the title of Emeritus Professor of Biology. He joined the University in 1960 and was promoted to professor rank in 1978. He was chair of the Department of Biology from 1983 to 1994 and dean of science from 1975 to 1977. He also held various concurrent posts such as chair of the Science Engineering Complex Management Committee and director o f the Institute of Science and Technology at different times. Prof. Chang retired on 30th September 1995. Prof. S.W. Tam has been awarded the title of Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in recognition o f his distinguished sen/ices to the University as pro-vice- chancellor (1990-94 ), as professor o f chemistry since 1982 ， as dean o f the Graduate School (1981-93), as head of Chung Chi College for two terms, and as acting director of the School o f Con- tinuing Studies (1994-95). Prof. Tam joined the University in 1965 and retired on 31st August 1995. P r o f. Ba y s u ng Hsu has been awarded the title o f Emeritus Professor of Physics. He joined the University as professor of physics in 1964, and was dean of science for two terms from 1969 to 1971 and from 1977 to 1979. He then served as pro-vice-chancellor for 15 years u n t il his r e t i r ement on 30th September 1994. Prof. T.B. L in has been awarded the title of Emeritus Professor of Economics. Prof. L in joined the University in 1966 and was p r omo t ed t o professor o f economics in 1983. He was chair of the Department of Economics from 1975 to 1991, dean of social science from 1977 to 1980, and head of New Asia College from 1985 to 1992. He retired on 31st May 1995. Servic e t oth eCommunit y an d Internationa l Organization s *Prof. Ambrose Y. C. King, pro-vice- chancellor, has been appointed by H.E. the Governor to serve as a member of the Council of the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong until 19th June 1996. *Dr. Serena S. H. Jin, reader in translation, has been reappointed by H.E. the Governor as a member of the Bilingual Laws Advisory Committee from 30th October 1995 to 30th June 1997. *Dr. Fanny M. C. Cheung, dean of social science, has been appointed by H.E. the Governor as a member of the Advisory Committee on Social Work Training and Manpower Planning for two years from 1st November 1995. Tah-wen Chu, visiting scholar i n architecture, has been nominated by the University to serve for three years as its representative on the Appeal Board Panel to be established under Section 37 of the Builders' Lifts and Tower Working Platforms (Safety) Ordinance. *Prof. Joseph W. Y. Lau of the Department of Surgery has been elected to the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Surgical Colleges for three years from September 1995. *Prof. Char-nie Chen of the Department of Psychiatry was appointed visiting professor of the Shanghai Second Medical University on 8th September 1995. *Dr. Wing-wah Chan, senior lecturer i n music, has been appointed 1) adviser to the Regional Council from April 1994 to March 1996; 2) music adviser to the Urban Council from September 1995 to August, 1996; 3) Executive Committee member of the Federation of Youths in Guangzhou, China, from November 1995 to October 2000. Dr. Chan also conducted the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in its 5th Anniversary Concert held on 25th October 1995 in the Sir Run Run Shaw Hall. *Dr. Hui Lin, lecturer in geography, was elected academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences on 27th May 1995. Dr Lin has also been invited to serve as adviser to the Task Force for Urban Management Information System of the Shanghai Urban Planning Administration Bureau from September 1995. *Dr. John Shuttleworth, lecturer in sports science and physical education, has been appointed visiting professor of the Tianjin Institute o f Sports Science from 15th October 1995. (All information in this section is provided by the Information and Public Relations Office. Contributions should be sent direct to that office for registration and verification before publication.) Wei Lun Professor Examines Cost of Capital Prof. Rene M. Stulz, Ralph Kurtz Chair in Finance from Ohio State University and Wei L un V i s i t i ng Professor t o the University, gave a lecture entitled 'Does the Cost o f Capital D i f f er Across Countries? — Cases of the U.S. and Japan' on 21st November. In his lecture Prof. Stulz compared a conventional formulation of the cost of capital w i th an agency cost adjusted formulation. The conventional cost o f capital measures the rate of return which is required by the firm to satisfy its sources of capital. The logic is that any project accepted must be expected to be able to pay for the firm's cost of capital. The globalization of financial markets means that investors can now expect to earn similar returns across the world. Prof. Stulz however pointed out that there are important differences in the cost of capital in different countries brought about by differences in corporate control mechanisms. For example, the American system of corporate control exerts less control over managers and therefore implies a greater cost of capital; the Japanese system involves more monitoring o f managers and therefore a lower cost of capital. Prof. Stulz has contributed significantly to the literature on financial engineering and risk management. He has published more than 40 papers in finance and economic journals. He is the current editor o f the Journal of Finance and the former editor ofthe Journal of Financial Economics. He is also a member of the Asset Pricing and Corporate Finance Programs of the National Bureau o f Economic Research, USA.