Newsletter No. 99

No. 99 19th December 1996 2 CUHK Newsletter CUMBA 30TH ANNIVERSARY BANQUET The alumni of the University's MBA Programmes threw a banquet in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel on 16th November as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of the programmes. Attending the banquet were 465 alumni and faculty members of the Executive MBA, Three- Year and Two-Year M BA Programmes, and special guests. The number was a record high for both CUMBA gatherings and the Sheraton ballroom. Among the distinguished guests were Mr. W. K. Lam, Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr. Michael M. Y. Suen, Secretary for Home Affairs, and Mr. Joseph W. P. Wong, Secretary for Education and Manpower. Dr. Alice Lam, chair of the Advisory Board of the Two-Year MBA Programme, delivered a welcoming speech. The MBA Programmes have produced some 2,000 alumni in 30 years, many of whom now occupy prominent management positions in local and international entreprises as well as professorships in local business schools. Apart from serving as the grand finale of 30th anniversary celebrations, the banquet provided a valuable opportunity for alumni interaction and business networking. CUHK Members Win Laurels • T he B o o k Silk and Bamboo Music in Shanghai: The Jiangnan Sizhu Instrumental Ensemble Tradition 《江南絲竹音樂在上海》 by Prof. Lawrence Witzleben of the Music Department was awarded the Alan Merriam Prize for the best book of the year in ethnomusicology. The prize was announced and awarded at the 41st annual meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology held in Toronto in November 1996. Alan Merriam (1923-1980) was one of the principal founders of the discipline of ethnomusicology. The Alan Merriam Prize is awarded by the Society for Ethnomusicology 'to recognize the best published English Language monograph in the field of ethnomusicology'. The society was incorporated in 1955 in the US and has an international membership. Prof. Witzleben's award-winning book was published by The Kent State University Press in 1995. It is the result of his fieldwork in Shanghai in 1981—82 and 1984-85. He joined the Music Department of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1988 and has been teaching Chinese instrumental music, world music, and ethnomusicology since. • Ms May Wong, a sailing instructor at the CUHK Water Sports Centre, came first in the 10th Tolo Channel Boat Race organized by the Regional Council and the Hong Kong Outward Bound School on 10th November 1996. The annual event started from the Tai Mei Tuk Water Sports Centre with over 150 sailing boats and windsurfers. Mr. Dion Houghton, an associate member of the CUHK Staff Boat Club, also came first in the Topper class. lnstal lat ion of CUHK V i ce -Chance l l o r s Some Facts a nd F i gu r es FiveVer ySpecial Congregations The University held its 51st congregation for the installation of Prof. Arthur K. C. L i as the fourth vice-chancellor on 7th November. The ceremony marks one of the five historic moments in the University's development, the four others being the congregation for the inauguration of the University in October 1963, and congregations for the installation of the University's first three vice-chancellors: Dr. Choh-ming Li at the 2nd congregation in September 1964, Prof. Ma Lin at the 19th congregation in October 1978, and Prof. Charles K. Kao at the 34th congregation in October 1987. Venue As in the installation of Prof. Charles Kao, this year's event was held at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hall on campus. Before the opening of the hall in 1981, congregations for the inauguration of the University and the installation of its first two vice- chancellors took place in the Concert Hall of the City Hall, which is older than The Chinese University by one year. Five Different Chancellors Preside Fo l l ow i ng the tradition of English universities, congregations at the University, degree-conferring and otherwise, are presided over by the Chancellor of the University (or his representative), a capacity assumed by the Governors of Hong Kong: Sir Robert Black in 1963, Sir David Trench in 1964, Sir Murray (now Lord) MacLehose in 1978, Sir David (now Lord) Wilson in 1987, and Mr. Christopher Patten in 1996. TwoSymbols ofVice- Chancellorship At the installation ceremony, the vice-chancellor is presented with a bound copy of the Ordinance of the University as well as the seal of the vice-chancellorship, two symbols of his high office. The former is actually a copy of Chapter 1109 of the Hong Kong Ordinance which governs the establishment of this university. The Seal of the Vice-Chancellor, as the picture on the right shows, is a two-inch square seal cast in bronze, with a knob in the shape of a feng —the mythical Bird of the South, which is also the emblem of the University. The 10 characters o f the seal, engraved in the seal script of the Qin Dynasty, read 'The Seal o f the Vice- Chancellor of The Chinese University o f Hong Ko n g '. There are also inscriptions on the three sides, giving the title of the seal itself in a clerical script, the University motto (bo wen yue li) in Jinwen (金文), and the name of the engraver and the year it was cast. Procession On 17th October 1963 when The Chinese University was inaugurated, an academic procession of the University was formed for the first time, with 71 members in the line. Since then the longest procession had not consisted of more than 124 members. The record was broken this year at the 51st congregation with a procession consisting of 295 members. For readers who are interested to know more about previous congregations they can refer to two feature articles on the subject published in the CUHK Newsletter in December 1992 (issue No. 37) and January 1993 (issue No. 38). The Seal of the Vice-Chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong A bound copy of The Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance 19th Congregation, 1978 2nd Congregation, 1964 34th Congregation, 1987 51st Congregation, 1996