HKU ‘still in process’ of selecting new chief
The University of Hong Kong is going through the procedure of selecting and appointing a new president and the result will not be announced until the process is complete, the university announced in a statement on Friday.
HKU issued the statement after local media reported that the university’s selection committee had picked Chinese American mechanical engineering professor Zhang Xiang as sole candidate for the post.
University regulations specify an appointment will only be made after approval by the governing HKU Council.
Council Chairman Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, who also chairs the selection committee, did not confirm the news, citing confidentiality of the selection process.
But he criticized the information leak, saying such conduct was “dishonest” and “immoral”.
The university’s new president is expected to assume office in February next year as present HKU President Peter Mathieson is due to leave the institution next month.
The reported sole candidate, Nanjing-born Zhang, is currently a mechanical engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States.
According to Zhang’s biography on Berkeley’s website, he graduated from one of China’s most prestigious universities, Nanjing University, before he pursued graduate studies at the University of Minnesota and obtained a PhD from Berkeley.
Time Magazine named Zhang as maker of one of the “Top 10 Scientific Discoveries of the Year” and “50 Best Inventions of the Year” in 2008.
In 2010, Zhang’s international fame grew further after he developed a foldable, ultra-thin invisible cloak which could cover microscopic objects of any shape, allowing them not to be detected by visible light.
Zhang, a US national, is also a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China’s top scientific institution.
He has played an active role in promoting exchanges and cooperation between Chinese higher education institutions, research centers and foreign institutions, according to his introduction page on CAS’s website.
His efforts translated into two cooperation agreements signed by Nanjing University and Berkeley in 2011, in which mutual exchanges and opportunities for further study were made on a regular basis.
Lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok, an HKU alumnus and also an engineer, said HKU’s president should be someone who excels in academia and has a global vision.
Zhang is internationally acclaimed for his excellence in nanotechnology, Lo said, adding his overseas work contributes to his international vision.
Lo also believed the HKU selection committee would pick the best candidate after considering necessary factors for the job, including academic performance and management ability.