Newsletter No. 214

T h r e e f a c i l i t i es on C h u n g C h i C a m p u s f o r m a l l y O p e n e d TheEsther Lee Building, the Lee Hysan Concert Hall, and the Chung Chi College Administration Building were officially opened on 9th December 2002 on the Chung Chi campus. Dr. the Honourable Donald Tsang, acting chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, officiated at the ceremony. The platform party consisted of Prof. Arthur K.C. L i, Secretary for Education and Manpower; Dr. Lee Hon-chiu, chairman of the University Council; representatives of the Lee Hysan Foundation and the Lee Family; Prof. Ambrose King, vice- chancellor of the University; Mr. Karl Kwok, chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chung Chi College; Prof. Rance Lee, head of Chung Chi College; and Prof. Daniel Law, dean of arts. The Esther Lee Building, a 12-storey teaching block with a total construction area of around 14,400 square metres, houses four well-equipped lecture theatres and a s t a t e - o f - t h e - a rt concert hall. The building is home to the Department o f Economics and the Nethersole School of Nursing, as well as a number of research institutes, laboratories, and centres. The relationship between the late Dr. Esther Yewpick Lee and the University dates back to some 40 years ago when Dr. Lee's husband, Dr. Richard Charles Lee, took an active part in the planning of the University as vice-chairman of the Provisional Council. He subsequently served as vice-chairman of the Council of CUHK for some 20 years. To give permanent recognition to the contributions made by the Lee family over the past four decades, including a bountiful bequest of some $140 million from Dr. Esther Lee for the development of CUHK, the new teaching block is named the Esther Lee Building. The 269-seat Lee Hysan Concert Ha ll inside the Esther Lee Building is equipped with excellent acoustics and is ideal for chamber music, choral, and other musical performances. The construction of the Lee Hysan Concert Hall was made possible by the generous support of the Lee Hysan Foundation, which has always been a staunch supporter of higher education and cultural development, and an arch patron of the University and Chung Chi College. The six-storey Chung Chi Administration Building houses offices for the college's administration, including the College Head's Office and the College Office, the Dean of General Education's Office, the Board Room, and the Kilborn Room. Other units include the Health Promotion Office, the Video Workshop, the Alumni Room, and the College Lounge. Secon d Meetin g o fTas k Forc e t o Advis e o nInstitutiona l Integratio n T h e Task Force to Advise on Institutional Integration of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) held its second meeting on 13th December 2002. The Task Force noted that the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Task Force would seek clarification from the government on a number of issues, including the objectives of a merger and the funding implications, before further considering the matter. The CUHK Task Force welcomes this development. At the meeting, the Task Force explored whether and how institutional integration might enhance the University's strengths and enable the University to compete on the global stage. It recognized that in the Hong Kong context, the bulk of resources at any university's disposal comes from government, principally according to student numbers. Given such circumstances, CUHK as a public university would achieve economies of scale and attain critical mass by seeking more student numbers and the corresponding resources, thereby improving its quality. The Task Force would continue to explore whether integration with another institution could be a desirable way of achieving this goal. The Task Force enumerated various scenarios of integration, which would be further examined in future meetings. In discussing institutional integration, members called attention to the importance of improving teaching and research quality, and taking care of the needs and sentiments of the students. UL S Celebrate s Thre e Decade s o fServic e o fth eMai n Librar y T h e University Library System celebrated the 30th anniversary of the University Library building on the morning of11th December 2002 at the Forum outside the library. An exhibition on Hong Kong literature was held in celebration of the launch of the Hong Kong Literature Collection at the same time. O f f i c i a t i ng a t the opening ceremony were Dr. Jack C.C. Tang ( l e ft 1), son of the late Dr. Tang Ping-yuan, the donor of the U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y building, Mrs. Martin Tang ( l e f t 3), granddaughter-in- law of Dr. Tang Ping-yuan, Prof. Dai Longji ( r i g h t ) , University Librarian o f Peking University, Prof. Ambrose King, vice-chancellor of the University, Prof. P.W. Liu, pro-vice-chancellor, Prof. Jao Tsung I, Wei Lun Honorary Professor, Prof. Lo Wai-luen, director of the Hong Kong Literature Research Centre, and Dr. Colin Storey ( l e f t 2), University Librarian. The University Library building was completed in 1972. As a key academic and research library in East Asia, the University Library System of CUHK currently holds 1.7 million items in print, some 14,000 electronic journals and electronic databases and eight in-house developed databases such as the Hong Kong Index of Chinese Periodicals (HKInChiP) and the Hong Kong Literature Database (HKLit). The Hong Kong Literature Collection comprises some 12,000 items that are valuable sources for research and study. The collection contains some first and out-of- print editions of Hong Kong literature publications in both Chinese and English. Prof. Lo Wai-luen has also donated to the University Library her private collection of about 20,000 books, journals, and vertical files. Among them are precious Hong Kong literature publications of the early 1920s and 1930s. I CM to Conduct Research w i th Wai Yuen Tong T he University's Institute of Chinese Medicine has reached an agreement with Wai Yuen Tong Medicine Holdings Limited to collaborate on two research projects respectively on childhood asthma and female menopausal symptoms. The projects are two of the priority projects under the UGC Area of Excellence on Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development. The collaboration with Wai Yuen Tong will facilitate the commercialization of the research results for the benefit of patients by offering them alternative Chinese medicine treatment with scientific back-up and validated efficacy. 1 No. 214 4th January 2003

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