Media

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) today announces the appointment of three internationally renowned scholars as deans of three of its faculties. They are:-

• Professor Gary BIDDLE - Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics 
• Professor Weng Cho CHEW - Dean of the Faculty of Engineering 
• Professor Shirley GRUNDY - Dean of the Faculty of Education

Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, Vice-Chancellor of HKU, looks forward to seeing the respective faculties reaching new heights under their deanship. "I have every confidence that their distinguished academic achievements, outstanding credentials and visionary leadership will help further enhance HKU's leading role in research and education in their respective disciplines, locally and internationally."

Following the appointment of the three Deans, HKU has completed the recruitment process of appointed Deans to all of its Faculties, in accordance with the recommendations in the 2003 Fit for Purpose Report on the review of the University's governance and management. These appointments will strengthen accountability and align the University's practice with those of other leading universities worldwide.

Professor Chew took up the Deanship in the summer of 2007, while Professor Biddle and Professor Grundy will start their service at the University in the fall semester.

The biographical details of the three appointed Deans are:

Professor Gary BIDDLE
Professor Biddle has been the Associate Dean, School of Business and Management of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), since 2001. He was also the Synergis - Geoffrey Yeh Chair Professor and Head of HKUST's Department of Accounting.
Professor Biddle is a prominent scholar in the field of accounting and finance. He earned his PhD and MBA degrees at University of Chicago and served on the faculty of the University of Washington and the University of Chicago before coming to Hong Kong in 1996.
Under his leadership, HKUST launched and advanced a number of programmes with high global rankings. He also has received numerous awards for teaching excellence in both the US and Hong Kong. Beyond academia, he has a wide range of connections and experience in the commercial sector, working as a consultant and an independent director at a number of large regional and multinational corporations.

Professor Weng Cho CHEW
Professor Chew has been the Director for Computational Electromagnetics and Electromagnetics Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) since 1995. He joined the UIUC faculty in 1985 where he later became a Founder Professor and a Y.T. Lo Endowed Chair Professor. Prior to that, he was with the Schlumberger-Doll Research, Ridgefield for nearly five years, where he rose to the rank of a department manager. He obtained his doctoral, masters and bachelor degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He later received the Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1986.
An internationally renowned scholar in electromagnetics, and fast algorithms in computational electromagnetics, he is among the ISI Most Highly Cited Authors (top 0.5%) for his academic publications. He has received a number of awards for research and excellence in teaching, supervised many students and mentored junior faculty who have subsequently become award winners themselves.

Professor Shirley GRUNDY
Professor Grundy has been the Dean of the Faculty of Education at Deakin University, Australia, since 2001. Prior to that, she was in the faculty of Murdoch University and the University of New England, Australia. An internationally respected scholar in teacher education, curriculum reform and action research, she has substantial experience in the school sector and was the District Director of Warren Blackwood Education District, Western Australia, from 1998-2000.
She has also been in leading positions in a number of influential professional bodies, such as the Victoria Council of Deans of Education, the Australian Council of Deans of Education, and the Australian Association for Research in Education, amongst others.

For photos of the three deans: -
Picture 1: Professor Gary BIDDLE
Picture 2: Professor Weng Cho CHEW
Picture 3: Professor Shirley GRUNDY

For media interviews or enquiries, please contact Ms. Cherry Cheung, Senior Manager (Media) (Tel: 2859 2606 /Email: cherry.cheung@hku.hk) or Ms Denise Wong, Manager (Media), External Relations Office, HKU (Tel: 2859 2600 / E-mail: denise.wong@hku.hk)