Bulletin Number Three

Shaw College, the fourth College of the University, has been established; and the outlook of the whole campus has changed,showing improvements everywhere. Can you tell us what brought you the greatest satisfaction during your tenure? A. Let me tell you a story first. Charles William Eliot was the President of Harvard University for forty years; at a dinner in his honour, one speaker congratulated him on achieving miracles at the university: 'Since you became president, Harvard has become a storehouse of knowledge.' Eliot responded: ‘What you say is true, but I can claim little credit for it. It is simply that the freshmen bring so much and the seniors take so little away.' We all know that the functions of a university are quite different from those of a factory or a bank; it is wrong to measure the performance of a university by a simple numerical concept such as quarterly or annual profit; rather an overall long- term assessment of academic and educational output is called for. Hong Kong used to import technological and professional expertise just as it imports fruit and cameras, the consideration in both cases being ready availability and cost- effectiveness. Today, what Hong Kong really needs is to have a new generation of professionals trained to be able to think and make judgments for themselves. The academic achievements of our colleagues at the University are becoming greater and greater; the training programmes of our students are becoming more and more adaptable to the needs of our society; our graduates have taken so much knowledge away, while the knowledge accumulated by our teaching staff is so abundant; and as a storehouse of knowledge, our University would not be in the red. For a Vice-Chancellor of the University, what would be more satisfying than that? Q. Let's turn to a less serious topic now. You are a very busy man ， there is no doubt about it; but we would still like to know more about our Vice- Chancellor outside the office. What are your hobbies and recreations? A. Physicist James Franck was professor of G ö ttingen University when the twenty-three-year-old J. Robert Oppenheimer was being examined for his octorate. On emerging from the oral examination, Franck remarked ， ‘I got out there just in time. He was beginning to ask me questions.' I have answered so many questions up till now, I think I am entitled to ‘get out in time' for this one, because to tell you the truth, I have no hobbies or recreations whatsoever. King George the Fifth was an enthusiastic stamp collector. A private secretary once remarked to him, ‘I see in The Times today that some damn fool has given fourteen hundred pounds for a single stamp at a private sale.' ‘I am that damn fool ，' said the king. I think it would not be too late for me to learn to become a damn fool after my retirement. Q. Finally, what is the advice you would like to give to your colleagues and students to make The Chinese University a better university? A. Before his retirement nine years ago, Dr. Choh- Ming Li gave an interview to the Chinese University Bulletin, in which he stressed the importance of research to our colleagues; and for the students, he hoped they would develop their power of analysis and judgment and also their adaptability to various life conditions. I very much agree with Dr. Li's advice; please allow me to use this opportunity to remind you of the importance of research and the value of independent thinking. This is precisely what should be cherished and enhanced in the tradition of our University. 7