Media

Appointment of Dr. Victor K.K. Fung as the Chairman of the Council of the University of Hong Kong

28 Jun 2001

 

Dr. the Honorable T.L. Yang was appointed Chairman of the Council of the University of Hong Kong in September 1985. His term of appointment formally ended last year, but Dr. Yang graciously agreed to continue as Chairman for a further 12 months to assist the University at what was then a difficult time.

On August 31, 2001 Dr. the Honorable T.L. Yang will therefore relinquish the position of Chairman of Council after 16 years of service. The University of Hong Kong is pleased to announce that the Chancellor has appointed Dr. Victor K.K. Fung as the next Council Chairman, with his appointment taking effect on September 1, 2001.

Dr. Yang said:‘I am honoured to have been able to serve Hong Kong's premier tertiary educational institution for such a long period. It is gratifying for me to look back and see the progress that we have made towards academic excellence and how our graduates serve Hong Kong as leaders in a wide range of professions.’ He expressed his gratitude to all the Council members and to the many University colleagues with whom he had worked for the benefit of the University during his period of office. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Davies, praised the outgoing Chairman for his dedicated service and his valuable contributions to the University which have won for Dr. Yang the respect and appreciation of Council colleagues and other members of the University community. ‘Dr. Yang's Council Chairmanship over the last 16 years has seen the University in the charge of 4 different Vice-Chancellors and its evolution into a comprehensive, research-led university of international stature’, said Professor Davies.

In 1991, the University recognized Dr. Yang's contributions to its development by awarding him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters.

Dr. Fung who has been a member of Council of the University of Hong Kong since 1997 and since 1996 an honorary professor in the University's School of Business, is Chairman of the Airport Authority of Hong Kong and is a past Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. He holds a bachelor and master's degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD from Harvard University. From 1972 to 1976, Dr. Fung was a faculty member at the Harvard Business School teaching managerial economics and corporate financial management in the University's MBA programme. Dr. Fung was recently awarded the Harvard Medal for outstanding service to Harvard University.

‘We very much welcome the appointment of Dr. Fung’, said Professor Davies, ‘and we are delighted he has accepted the Chairmanship. The University stands to benefit greatly both from Dr. Fung's strong academic credentials as well as his wealth of civic and business experience’, he concluded.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Fung said that he was very conscious of the honour of becoming the University's 8th lay Chairman of Council and he looked forward to greater involvement in higher education in Hong Kong. 'To take up the Chairmanship of the Council gives me a much-valued opportunity to be a part of this very fine institution and its role in Hong Kong's future,' said Dr. Fung.

The Government will formally gazette Dr. Fung's appointment on Friday, June 29, 2001.