24 March 2014

Dear alumni,

I know some of you are in the middle of training for the marathon to be held in South Korea at the beginning of next month. My sincere thanks go to our dedicated alumni for supporting and sponsoring this event which is a major feature of our on-going 30th anniversary celebrations.

We are taking part in the Gyeongju Cherry Marathon 2014 for good reasons. First, we want to promote fitness and the spirit of discipline and perseverance within the CityU community. In addition, we want to enhance CityU’s global image by fielding a large team of athletes who are keen to compete in international activities. We hope to make a lot of new friends during this event and to promote intercultural exchanges. And last but not least, we hope to create a greater sense of unity at CityU by participating in such global events.

Next month also sees another major event involving alumni: the 3rd Distinguished Alumni Award Presentation Ceremony cum Alumni Story Book Launch, to be held on 16 April. This event will recognise the outstanding achievements of our alumni and their distinguished contributions to their professions, alma mater and society. We take great pride in our alumni and I hope to see as many of you as possible at this event.

Other news I would like to highlight is the successful completion of the 21-day expedition to Antarctica. This trip was a huge success in realising our Discovery-enriched Curriculum which is a distinguished feature of CityU’s professional education. I hope this unique learning experience will instill in the students who went there a deeper respect for nature at its most pristine.

I was also very excited that one of our top researchers, Professor He Jufang, of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and his outstanding team had published their research findings about memory formation in the top journal Cell Research. Their ground-breaking study, which brings new hopes for the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s diseases, was widely reported in the media. It underscores the world-class quality of the scientists at CityU working in the life sciences.

Related to this story is our very productive trip to Cornell University last month where I met with Professor D. Skorton, Cornell President, to discuss general collaborations between the two universities, and with Professor M. Kotlikoff, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, and his colleagues to work out the details of the postgraduate programmes for our School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM). We explored the veterinary facilities at Cornell and came away with some very exciting ideas for the future cooperation between Cornell University and CityU. In particular, I appreciated very much the staunch support for our partnership in establishing a world-class SVM in Asia.

So that leaves me just time to add that we will be hosting many interesting events for our 30th anniversary over the coming months and I am sure you will have plenty of opportunities to network and enhance your ties with each other and with CityU.

We need your support to make CityU a great university and a university for you!

Best wishes,

Way Kuo
President and University Distinguished Professor
City University of Hong Kong

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