Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2004

Generous donations from Dr. Q.W. Lee (left) and Dr. Simon Li (right) will enable the founding of two named Chairs in Law. Dr. Q.W. Lee was for many years the Chairman of the University Council; Dr. Simon Li was a senior member of the Hong Kong Judiciary and has been a major benefactor of CUHK. In addition, Mr. Warren Chan, SC, has made a generous donation in support of the School of Law. C.Y. Kwan & Co. and Mr. K.K. Chu have donated major collections of law books. The late Dr. C.Y. Kwan was the Founding Chairman of the University Council and Mr. Chu is a solicitor in Hong Kong. The LLB programme will admit students in 2006 and the PCLL in 2007. A JD programme to provide legal education for graduates in non-law subjects will also be offered in 2006. Other postgraduate programmes will include a one-year taught LLM that offers a selection of specializations, as well as the M.Phil. and the Ph.D., all to be launched in 2007. Restructuring of A c a d e m i c D e p a r t m e n ts a n d P r o g r a mm es A s a result of a substantial reduction in UGC subvention for 2004-5, and the salary reduction to be implemented in line with the civil service pay cut in 2004 and 2005, the University will be faced with a budget shortfall of $384 million in 2004-5, representing an overall funding reduction of 12.3 per cent over 2003-4. In the face of such a huge funding cut in the coming year and possibly more in 2005-8, the Un i ve r s i ty is determined to maintain and improve the quality of its academic activities. To do so, it must focus resources in areas where strength meets opportunities and demands. The Un i v e r s i ty t h us critically reviewed its position and assessed the changes needed so as to come out of the funding reduction better and stronger. It finally came up with a proposal for the restructuring of academic developments and programme in early 2004. The criteria for restructuring include whether the department or programme is core to the University's mission of being a world-class comprehensive university, the feasibility of deploying students to other departments or programmes, and whether the size of the depa r tment or programme can be maintained in the face of a continuing cut. Restructuring helps CUHK to cope with the f und i ng cut, and more importantly, provides an opportunity to r e p r i o r i t i ze r e s ou r c es for l o n g - t e rm development. Restructuring helps CUHK to cope with the funding cut, and more importantly, provides an opportunity to reprioritize resources for long-term development. 2 0 Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 2004