CUHK
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The Council of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) announced that at its meeting today (15 June), it considered and unanimously accepted the Final Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Reorganization of the Council (Ad Hoc Committee). For the purpose of streamlining its structure and enhancing efficiency, the size of the Council will be reduced from 58 to 25 members, including 17 external and 8 internal members. For the first time, a total of four Council members will be elected by and from among each of the following categories:

‧all full-time employees of CUHK who are members of the Academic Staff;
‧all full-time employees of CUHK who are not members of the Academic Staff;
‧all full-time undergraduate students of CUHK; and
‧all full-time postgraduate students of CUHK.

The reorganized Council encompasses a broad spectrum of the University community, including external members, students, academic and non-academic staff, and alumni.

Membership for full-time undergraduate students
After consulting different parties, the Ad Hoc Committee recommends in its Final Report that two student members be added to the reorganized Council: one to be elected by and from among all full-time undergraduate students, the other by and from among all full-time postgraduate students. The candidates should stand for election in their personal capacities. The President of the Chinese University Student Union (CUSU) can do the same. Since the officers of the CUSU have been elected as one single slate standing for the entire cabinet, it would be difficult for any such officer, in that role, to serve the Council in a personal capacity. In view of this, a student Council member elected by and from among all the undergraduate students will ensure that he/she can adequately represent the interest of the entire undergraduate body. At present, four of the seven other local institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) have student members in their councils. But none of the presidents of their student unions serve as an ex officio member.

Membership for Legislative Council Members
The Final Report recommends that the reorganized Council should include one Legislative Council member, instead of three on the current Council. Reference has been made to other higher education institutions; CUHK will be the only UGC-funded institution that has a seat in its Council for Legislative Council members.

In response to the recommendations of the Government, the UGC and the Audit Commission, the Ad Hoc Committee, chaired by Sir C.K. Chow, was formed on 20 January 2009 to advise on the desirable composition of the reorganized Council. The Ad Hoc Committee had actively sought the views of CUHK staff, students and alumni through online means and open consultation sessions. The Ad Hoc Committee’s Final Report has been posted at: (www.cuhk.edu.hk/council-reorganization/FinalReport_English.pdf).