Dear colleagues, students and alumni,

Reappointment of University President

The Council Secretariat announced on 21 October the passing of a Council resolution to reappoint Professor Way Kuo to serve as CityU President for a third term of office. We are pleased to share with you the following background information in relation to the reappointment:

1. The Council of CityU voted to approve the reappointment resolution related to Professor Way Kuo based on the power accorded to the Council under the City University of Hong Kong Ordinance Section 14(1) and (2), which provide that the Office of the President can be appointed by a Council resolution passed by not less than 3/4 of Council members.
   
   The CityU President is not allowed to vote or take part in any of the deliberations. Nonetheless, he counts as part of the Council body, meaning that, in real terms, his reappointment requires the support of 81% of the full Council. Professor Kuo’s reappointment standard can be regarded as among the highest among universities in the world, including those in Hong Kong. This is far higher than many universities which require 2/3 or even 1/2 of the vote for passing a resolution to reappoint a president.
    
2. The procedures adopted for the reappointment of CityU President were based on independent legal opinion obtained by the Council. They were undertaken in order to ensure that every Council member was given the opportunity to exercise his or her vote on this matter. In view of the fact that not all Council members can attend every Council meeting, a vote by circulation as recommended by legal advice, with the opportunity to discuss the matter at a full Council meeting on 20 October 2016 before voting closed on 21 October 2016, was considered the most appropriate way.
   
   In accordance with Section 12 of the University Ordinance, the reappointment resolution approved in writing by at least a 3/4 majority of members is as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Council.
   
   Note that no request was made in writing, before and at the Council meeting or before the voting deadline, for a secret ballot.
    
3. There are no rules, including the University Ordinance, that limit the term of Office of the CityU President, or that stipulate that the term should be limited to two terms only. Neither has there been any policy change by the Council with regard to the number of terms that can be served by a CityU president.
   
   No fixed number of terms associated with the appointment of a university president is a widely acknowledged practice in higher education. There are also precedents in Hong Kong where university presidents have served for more than ten years. 
    
4. Professor Way Kuo’s reappointment was based on the remarkable developments achieved at CityU on all fronts over the past 8+ years under his leadership, resulting in a complete transformation of CityU’s institutional identity and firmly establishing it as one of the fastest rising universities in the world.
   
   To improve flexibility in the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty, the Council in 1996 approved that, under special circumstances, it can offer appointments to world-renowned scholars who are over the age of 65 in order to enrich the CityU talent pool, allowing it to pursue academic excellence. This is also common practice among universities in Hong Kong as well as in the world.

Communications and Public Relations Office
24 October 2016

各位同事、同學及校友：

校長續任議案

校董會秘書處已在10月21日公佈了校董會通過郭位教授續任城大校長的議案。謹此發佈有關校長續任議案的背景資料如下：
 

1. 城大校董會根據《香港城市大學條例》（《大學條例》）第14 (1) 及 (2) 兩則所授予的職權，投票通過郭位教授續任校長。按照該條例規定，校長的委任須由不少於3/4 的校董會成員贊成。
   
   城大校長雖為校董會成員之一，卻不可投票，也不能參與討論。因此，事實上必須獲得81% 的校董投票同意，續任決議才能通過。校長續任規定，堪稱符合包括香港各大學在內的世界任何大學委任程序的極高標竿，也遠高於許多其他大學。在這些大學裏，校長委任的議案須要2/3 或1/2 贊成票即可通過。
    
2. 校長續任程序是城大校董會諮詢法律意見之後而執行。過程中，務必確保每位校董都有機會對續任議案行使其合法的投票權責。考慮到並非每位校董會成員都能參加每次會議，遂採取法律顧問建議的通訊投票，在2016年10月21日投票截止前的10月20日校董會正式會議上也依規定討論了續任事項，可以說是最周全的安排。
   
   按照《大學條例》第12條規定，由至少3/4 校董會成員以書面形式通過的續任決議即為校董會決議，具專業依據及法律效用。
   
   此外，10 月 20 日校董會開會前，不曾有校董要求以不記名方式投票，而在會議中及10月21日下午2點投票截止之前，也沒有校董提出不記名投票的要求。
    
3. 沒有任何規定或《大學條例》限制城大校長的任期，或指定校長任期只限於兩任。對於城大校長的任期，校董會未曾作出政策上的改變。不設大學校長固定任期的做法，在高等教育界中普遍認可。在香港，大學校長任期超過10年的也有先例可援。

4. 校董會支持郭位校長續任，乃基於過去8年多來在他領導下，城大在教研創新、國際化等各方面取得顯著進展，獲廣泛認可為近年全球進步最多的大學之一。為了延聘、留任傑出人才，城大校董會早於1996年即已批准，在特殊情形下主動延聘年齡逾65歲的世界著名學者，增強大學智才實力，追求學術卓越。如此做法，在全球及香港高等教育界皆廣泛採用。

傳訊及公關處
2016年10月24日