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Global Education Leaders Share Insights on Public Interest and Future of Public Higher Education in the 21st Century
Some of the world’s most influential higher education leaders gathered at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) for a Forum on ‘The Public Interest and the Future of Public Higher Education in the 21st Century’, sharing their thoughts on the role of public universities in advancing the public good. The leaders included Prof. Benjamin W. Wah, Provost of CUHK; Dr. Richard T. Armour, Secretary-General of the University Grants Committee; and Prof. David Ward, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. CUHK was also privileged to have Dr. Glenn Shive, Executive Director of the Hong Kong-America Center moderate the Forum.
Prof. Benjamin W. Wah, Provost of CUHK, spoke on rankings, positioning, and the role of leadership in public institutions. He cautioned the audience on over-indulgence in rankings asthese assessments were selective and incomplete and urged universities to use it as a tool for self-reflection and improvement. Dr. Richard T. Armour, Secretary-General of the University Grants Committee, challenged the audience to consider whether higher education has a place as a public good by drawing examples from Hong Kong, the United States and the United Kingdom. Prof. David Ward, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, shared his thoughts from his experience at his university as well as at the American Council on Education, the leading higher education advocacy group in the United States.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison and CUHK are both members of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), a group of 19 research-led universities that helps to build global research communities by supporting collaboration. The WUN has identified four Global Challenges to channel research efforts, one of which is ‘Global Higher Education and Research’, which the forum addressed.
Founded in 1848, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It enrols over 40,000 students and is considered to be one of the ‘Public Ivy’ universities in the United States.
The forum is attended by CUHK Provost Prof. Benjamin W. Wah (seventh from the right); Chancellor of University of Wisconsin-Madison Prof. David Ward (eighth from the right); Secretary-General of the University Grants Committee Dr. Richard T. Armour (sixth from the left); and Executive Director of the Hong Kong-America Center Dr. Glenn Shive (fifth from the left).
