Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2006

University Council Decides to Establish Two New Colleges 19 The mission of the new colleges is to foster an intimate and collegial community where students and academic staff learn, share and grow intellectually; to provide an environment for congenial college life and learning for students; to provide pastoral care and whole- person education including general education for students; to broaden and to internationalize the students’ perspective through college formal and non-formal education programmes. In particular, Morningside College will seek to cultivate among students a commitment to serve the community of Hong Kong, China and the world. S.H. Ho College will seek to cultivate among its students a commitment to personal responsibility and integrity which will lay the foundation for contributions to society and an enriching life. Prof. Lawrence J. Lau, Vice-Chancellor, said ‘The Chinese University of Hong Kong takes great pride in its college system, which with its intimate environment for interaction and learning, has contributed in very significant ways to the quality of the students through general education and informal learning. The University is very pleased that its vision to create such a supportive environment for young people to learn and grow together has won the enthusiastic and generous endorsement of benefactors. I am very encouraged by the overwhelming support, and wish to express the University’s gratitude to The Morningside Foundation and Morningside Education Foundation, as well as The S.H. Ho Foundation for their munificent donations. I hope that the intimate environment of these new and relatively small colleges will foster close relationship among students and staff, and help students to learn and grow. Together with the four existing colleges, there will be a spectrum of choices for students to select the type of experience that they prefer.’ The Chan family has long been a benefactor of higher education. Dr. Gerald Chan, director of The Morningside Foundation and Morningside Education Foundation, and a CUHK Council member, said, ‘Education is the key to the future development of any society. I encourage today’s young people to apply themselves to excel in their studies, broaden their intellectual horizon, acquire a global perspective, and affirm a commitment to serve the community. In the future, whether they live in Hong Kong, mainland China or abroad, they would become positive contributors to society.’ The S.H. Ho Foundation has also been a generous benefactor of CUHK over the years. The S.H. Ho Foundation was established by the late Dr. S.H. Ho. Dr. David Tzu Cho Ho, chairman of The S. H. Ho Foundation, and the Ho family said, ‘Dr. S.H. Ho has always been keen to give back to society. The foundation shares the educational vision of CUHK in establishing S.H. Ho College, and the donation fulfils the wish of Dr. Ho to contribute to the education of young people in a way that would mould their character for the benefit of society.’ Planning Committees The University Council has also approved the establishment of planning committees, one for each new college, to take charge of the detailed planning in order to be ready for full operation before 2012. The planning committees will, through a variety of channels, solicit advice from members of the University. The University has established a task force to coordinate among the colleges and the University, so that all parties will be able to work together most effectively for the benefit of students.