The Review 2009

48 The Review 2009 • Community Gifts That Last Our academic and physical development have been enhanced in recent years by private donations. These donations complement the Government’s allocation and enable us to establish endowment funds, develop and plan new facilities, and provide students and staff with additional support for learning and research. One of our most successful initiatives has been the Endowed Professorship Scheme, which began with eight professorships in 2005 and numbered 37 in 2009. The endowments, of a minimum $20 million each (including a matching grant from the University), promote excellence in research in the fields they support. In 2009 the Endowed Professorship donors were presented with a commemorative Ming-style chair bearing a plaque. Donors also support specific causes. We are recognised internationally for our research into infectious diseases so Professor Richard Yu and Mrs Carol Yu made a $50 million donation in support of the Carol Yu Centre for Infection to help us extend and enhance our ongoing research efforts. Gallant Ho, an alumnus, contributed $5 million to establish the Gallant Ho Service Learning Scheme – Family Values to provide up to 500 students with opportunities to offer services in the community related to their learning and gain an appreciation of the positive family values of Chinese culture. The Hung Hing Ying and Leung Hau Ling Charitable Donation also established the Hung Leung Hau Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities to bring important scholars to HKU (see Healing the Rift Across the Strait ). We also receive donations through broad appeals, which may be aggregated for special projects. In 2009 the Bricks Campaign was established in which donors receive a brick with an engraved personalised message that will be installed in a landscaped area of the new Centennial Campus. Donors have used the bricks for such things as commemorating their time at HKU, remembering loved ones and celebrating marriages, births and graduations. Promoting the Arts and Humanities A grounding in the arts and humanities is a valuable asset in today’s rapidly-changing world, where people need to be flexible and adaptable and think critically to sort through the bombardment of information and choices they face. We are keen to ensure that students gain a rounded perspective from the new curriculum, but we also recognise our responsibility to provide the community as a whole with opportunities to reflect more deeply on modern life. The month-long Summer Institute was a highly successful experiment to celebrate the arts and humanities with a wide range of activities and people from around the world. Secondary school students and members of the general public were invited to the campus to join 28 events that focused on the Chinese and English languages, culture, history, philosophy and creative industries. Activities ranged from performances by emerging Japanese pop stars and an English choir to a writers’ public forum and poetry readings to a Korean drumming workshop and a concert by percussionists from Ghana, Bali and Korea. 49 The Review 2009 • Community More than 2,000 people participated including about 130 students from 11 countries who took credit-bearing courses. Professor Daniel K.L. Chua, Head of the School of Humanities, was a driving force behind the programme. “The Summer Institute basically provides a space where different ideas can interact. Something exciting may happen in the relationship between people and the different arts and disciplines. It’s not the sort of thing that we can manipulate, but we hope that by providing the space, it can spark new projects,” he said. “More than 2,000 people participated including about 130 students from 11 countries” The University Artist's Scheme initiated by the Faculty of Arts was launched in 2008 to promote excellence in the arts. It brings together artistic university students and established artists for workshops, screenings, exhibitions and public performances. The scheme, which is hosted by the Faculty of Arts and supported by the Wah Ching Fund, is open to all university students in Hong Kong. Participating artists during the first year included film directors Ann Hui and Peter Chan Ho-sun, violinist Yao Jue, theatre director Vicki Ooi and percussionist Dr Lung Heung- wing. The Hung Leung Hau Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities scheme aims to bring renowned scholars to the University to enhance and enrich humanities studies at HKU. It was set up with a $15 million donation from the Hung Hing Ying and Leung Hau Ling Charitable Donation, which we matched to provide a perpetual endowment. The first incumbent is the renowned Taiwanese essayist and cultural critic, Professor Lung Yingtai (see overleaf). Participants in the Summer Institute