HKU senior management vacancies, turnovers in past few years ‘not ideal’: John Lee
- Remarks by city leader, who is also HKU’s chancellor, are first signs of stance on row between university president and governing council head
Hong Kong’s leader has said extended vacancies and frequent staffing changes in senior management roles at the city’s oldest university over the past few years are “not ideal”, the first indication of his stance on a row at the institution.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said on Tuesday he hoped a new investigation and study group set up to look into the conflict between the president and governing body of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) could set the record straight as soon as possible.
“Some vice-president positions have been left vacant for more than five years, and some important positions have also been filled in an interim manner for more than five years,” Lee said.
“There is also a vice-president post that has been taken up by five people within four years while it was vacant.
“This is not ideal, and it is impossible that the overall administrative work is not affected.”
HKU’s vice-president for global affairs role was vacant since January 2019 and another position of vice-president of institutional advancement was unfilled since 2021. The role of provost was taken up Richard Wong Yue-chim in an interim arrangement since 2019.