Press Release
HKBU confers the title of President Emeritus on Professor Ng Ching-fai and Professor Roland T Chin
Tuesday, 15 Dec 2020
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) conferred the title of President Emeritus on Professor Ng Ching-fai and Professor Roland T Chin at a ceremony held today (15 December) in recognition of their tremendous contributions to the University's development.
Professor Ng Ching-fai joined the then Hong Kong Baptist College in 1985 as Head of the Department of Chemistry and became the third President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU, from 2001 to 2010. During his presidency, Professor Ng recorded a multitude of bold and pioneering accomplishments, including the establishment of Hong Kong's first Academy of Visual Arts; the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei, the first factory-turned-artists'-village in Hong Kong; and the revitalisation of Lui Seng Chun from a Grade I historic building more than 80 years old into a Chinese medicine and healthcare centre. He also played an instrumental role in the establishment of Beijing Normal University – Hong Kong Baptist University United International College in Zhuhai, the first full-scale collaboration in higher education between mainland China and Hong Kong.
Professor Roland T Chin, who will retire next year, joined HKBU in 2015 as its fifth President and Vice-Chancellor and also as Chair Professor of Computer Science. Under his leadership, HKBU has developed a stronger faculty, has a greater talent pool, a renewed focus on research, a shared commitment to teaching excellence, a more international community and a more closely engaged network of alumni and supporters, local and overseas. The innovative Jockey Club Campus of Creativity is now being built, partially funded by a HK$452 million donation from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the largest single donation ever received by the University. Under his leadership, the University secured donations, donation pledges and matching funds amounting to a record total of more than HK$2 billion.
At today's conferment ceremony, Dr Clement Chen, Chairman of the Council and the Court of HKBU, said Professor Ng is an educator of unwavering determination. 'Armed with the HKBU spirit of striving for excellence even in adversity, he turned numerous threats into opportunities by launching pioneering academic programmes that meet community needs, such as Hong Kong's first Bachelor of Pharmacy in Chinese Medicine degree programme, and soliciting funding to support areas of development, especially in research enhancement and space provision."
Dr Chen also commended Professor Chin as a visionary leader. 'With his vision of shaping HKBU as a leading research-led liberal arts university in Asia for the world, Roland has inspired the whole of HKBU to devote robust efforts to take the University to a new level of excellence. These include crafting and implementing the University's Institutional Strategic Plan 2018-28 with a focus on providing the best student experience, raising the University's research capabilities and spearheading the Talent100+ initiative that has put HKBU prominently on the global universities map."
'Professor Ng and Professor Chin have earned the deep respect of the University community," said Dr Chen. 'We wish them all the best in their future endeavours and hope HKBU will occupy a prominent place in this new chapter in their lives and that they will inspire and counsel us in their new capacity as Presidents Emeritus of the University."
