Faculty of Medicine, HKU

Message from the Faculty of Medicine

FACULTY'S RESPONSE ON THE NAMING OF HKU MEDICAL FACULTY

(1) How does the Faculty feel about the naming of the Medical Faculty?

The naming of a Faculty is unprecedented in Hong Kong but has been a common practice for other international prestigious universities, especially in cases of medical schools. We think the naming marks a distinct endorsement and recognition of the HKU Medical Faculty's achievements contributed by ALL Faculty members over the years and a commitment to its future. This is truly matching of excellence with excellence, and is a strategic partnership between a premier institution and an outstanding philanthropist.

(2) Any strings attached to the naming of the Faculty?

Recognizing the Faculty's continuous excellence, Mr Li Ka Shing and his Foundation give their whole-hearted support to the Faculty's developments in biomedicine, which includes basic and clinical research as well as medical education.

In combination with other sources of support such as block grant monies and donations from other benefactors, the Medical Faculty will continue to support quality education programmes and areas of excellence in medical research, to expand the capacity of the Faculty and to bring the Faculty to the next level of excellence.

The naming of the Faculty is purely an appreciation of Mr Li's benevolent support. There is no string attached to the donation. Mr Li has not stipulated how the money should be spent and this is based on his trust and confidence in the Medical Faculty. When the Council of the University resolved to propose the naming, it made very clear that the naming will not in any way affect the governance, status, identity or daily operation of the Medical Faculty.

(3) Some medical graduates expressed concerns on the renaming of the Medical Faculty and will launch a signature campaign against the renaming, what is the response of the Faculty?

I. Teachers and students of the Medical Faculty are very grateful to the donation made by Mr Li;

II. We consider some graduates who express concern on the naming is a positive and normal act because they care much about the development of their school;

III. The naming is unprecedented in Hong Kong and hence no reference can be referred to. The senior management of HKU including Vice-Chancellor have already met staff members of the Medical Faculty and explained the details and considerations of the naming. Yet, due to the size of our medical alumni, it is not possible technically to meet all the alumni in advance;

IV. HKU will proactively meet alumni and students who express concerns on the naming so as to explain the background of the naming;

V. HKU also wishes to emphasize that the University and its Medical Faculty belong to the community. The donation from, and the partnership with, the Li Ka Shing Foundation will enable the Faculty of Medicine to make further contributions to medical education and research, which will benefit not only the Faculty and the University, but also the entire Hong Kong community.

Details: http://www.hku.hk/daao/1billion/

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港大醫學院回應傳媒查詢醫學院以李嘉誠先生命名


(1) 醫學院對醫學院命名為香港大學李嘉誠醫學院有何看法及感想﹖

在外國，國際級大學把大學本身甚至醫學院以捐贈者命名是十分普遍的做法。在香港，是次命名卻是高等學府中的第一次。我們認為是次命名港大醫學院正標誌著醫學院的教研水平及所有老師、學生及畢業生多年努力的成果獲得社會人士的高度肯定及評價。是次命名把出色的社會人士與港大醫學院連成一起，是一個『卓越』的配搭。

(2) 醫學院如何利用李嘉誠先生的捐款﹖李先生有否指定醫學院如何使用捐款﹖醫學院在命名後的管理及運作會否受到李先生的影響﹖由於港大醫學院在教育及科研上表現卓越，李先生及其基金會將大力支持醫學院
在醫學教育，以及生物科技，包括基礎及臨床研究的發展。

醫學院將結合李先生的捐獻及其他收入來源如政府及其他社會人士的熱心資助以繼續發展高質素的醫學課程及科研項目，增強學院持續發展的潛力，進一步提升學院的卓越水平。由於李先生及其基金會均十分關注教育及醫學的發展，且大部份捐款將用作發展醫學及生物科技，因此校方決定以醫學院冠名來表達對李先生的衷心謝意。李先生並沒有要求或指定大學及醫學院如何使用或分配捐款，這完全基於李先生對醫學院的信心。港大校務委員會清楚地表示，在醫學院命名後，醫學院不論在管理、法定地位及日常運作上將與命名前完全一樣。

(3) 有部分醫學院畢業生不希望校方把醫學院以李先生命名及召開記者招待會及發聯署信，校方回應如何﹖

I. 醫學院師生對李先生的捐獻表示衷心感謝；

II. 畢業生對醫學院命名的事表示關注，即反映畢竟關切母校的發展，是正面的反應；

III. 是次命名是全港第一次，並沒有先例可參考，加上校方已向教職員解釋命名的安排，但由於港大醫學院畢業生眾多，在此事上較難與所有畢業生會面及作詳細的介紹，因此個別畢業生因不瞭解整件事件的背景而有較大之反應實屬正常；

IV. 校方現正積極安排與醫學院校友及學生會面，希望能詳盡解釋事件的背景，釋除疑慮；

V. 校方亦希望強調大學及醫學院是屬於整個社會的，今次得到李嘉誠先生的熱心支持，將有助醫學院之發展，其教學與科研的成果亦可對香港作更進一步的貢獻，使整個社會及人類健康得到裨益。

詳情請參閱: http://www.hku.hk/daao/1billion/