The Review 2016

diversity will now be part of all decisions made at the University as we seek to achieve a sustainable cultural and systemic change. In sum, HKU has had a very eventful and largely fruitful year. There was the occasional dip – the University and its students were again the focus of some adverse media coverage and I would like to reiterate that whilst we will always defend freedom of expression, we expect our students and staff to take responsibility for their actions and respect the law. Thankfully, the most significant developments were focussed on our academic achievements and our future development. There is a sense of renewal on campus and a great deal of good will. The fulfilment of our vision will take commitment from every member of campus but there will be rewards in terms of learning experiences, partnerships and research outcomes. The University has much to be optimistic about. Professor Peter Mathieson President and Vice-Chancellor December 2016 Governance Apart from our vision statement and academic achievements, the University has initiated important reviews in the past year on governance and on gender equity and diversity. On governance, there were developments in Hong Kong as a whole and in the University. The University Grants Council released its governance report for all local universities, which made recommendations on the selection and responsibilities of university councils and risk management. The recommendations are sound and HKU will be taking them on board. Subsequently, we launched our own review in April 2016 of the effectiveness of our current governance structure. This is being led by a panel of three independent members from overseas and Hong Kong, who have held a series of consultations with Council members, University staff, students, alumni and other stakeholders. They are expected to submit their report by the end of 2016. Gender equity and diversity is an area where there is much scope for improvement. Women comprise only 20 per cent of HKU’s senior leadership and 18 per cent of tenured professors, but more than 50 per cent of students. Last year HKU became the first university in the world to launch on campus the United Nations Women’s HeForShe initiative and in September 2016, I was invited to speak at the UN during the launch of the HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 University Parity Report . HKU’s contribution to that report included our goals to improve gender balance of senior teams, advance women academics and support female students from the world’s most economically deprived places with scholarships. Gender equity and 06 07 At the United Nations Women’s HeForShe meeting in September, Professor Mathieson spoke on HKU’s gender equity measures. He is pictured here with other delegates including the HeForShe Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson (fifth from left). Professor Mathieson meets a guide dog at HKU’s Equal Opportunities Festival 2016 in October. Under the theme Think Differently, Embrace Diversity, this year’s festival focussed on disabilities discrimination and support for special education needs. Message from the President and Vice-Chancellor