UIC recently released an announcement that Prof. Edmund Kwok, Executive Vice President of UIC, would not seek further extension of his contract after the end of this July. In an email which Prof. Kwok sent to all UIC staffs, he said this decision was based on the awareness that UIC's experience of innovation in education was much needed for the educational reform and innovation of China. Prof. Kwok hoped that with his continuing effort, he could create more ways to promote education reform and innovation in China. Prof. Kwok revealed that he planed to set up a charitable foundation to be registered in Hong Kong to help promote international education in the country.
On this information, many students and staff expressed their gratitude and respect to Prof. Kwok for all the efforts and contributions which Prof. Kwok had made since the founding of the College six years ago. Many of them sent emails and text messages to Prof. Kwok and expressed their best wishes. Prof. Kwok was deeply touched. He said that even though he would leave the current position, his heart would always be with UIC; he would specially write letters to students and parents later to thank them for their warm wishes and care.
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Below is the original email from Prof. Kwok. (Photos added by editor)
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Dear colleagues:
You have all been informed of my decision not to seek further extension of my contract after the end of this July. It is with a range of complex and mixed feelings that I would like to further share with you my thoughts behind this decision, an intertwined mood of relief, joy and sentimentalism.
About three years ago, I have already mentioned to Prof. Ng that my intention was to complete this phase of my service to UIC in between 2010 to 2011. It is NOT that I do not feel attached to the College. On the contrary, my feeling and blood are deeply intermixed with its birth and growth. Deeply indebted to Prof. Xu Jialu, Prof Ng, and the two mother institutions (including BNU Zhuhai), I was granted this opportunity to join the teams of colleagues, students and friends who have strived so hard to build the College up together. I feel relieved that this task I took up six years ago has reached a point that I can move on to a phase of transition.
It is a time for celebration, especially with the fifth anniversary of the founding of the College. It is a time of celebration particularly for me to be able to serve the College and complete the job that was assigned to me in April 1, 2005. I am most grateful to Prof. Xu, Prof Ng, Prof Zhong Binglin (President of BNU) and all the colleagues, students and friends, past and present, working so selflessly in this process without which nothing could have been achieved.
After the announcement, I have received numerous messages of appreciation and best wishes from colleagues and students. I am deeply moved and sincerely thankful. However, it is also exactly because of the increasing awareness of the great significance of the founding of the College with its vision and mission, that I have become more and more convinced that I should move on to a new phase, with a new format, of my humble service to the national efforts of educational reform, especially in its attempts to meet with the challenge of globalization and internationalization. UIC has set a valuable precedent and its experience deserves to be studied carefully and promoted to other cities and institutions. Hence my personal wish to help UIC develop from a different perspective with a different approach.
About two years ago, I began to contemplate ways and models as how to best realize these objectives. In the last few months, I have gradually come up with a plan to set up a charitable foundation to be registered in Hong Kong to help promote international education in the country. Behind its vision and mission is the basic objective to share with the rest of the country and institutions all around the world the unique experience of UIC. By raising funds from different sources, the foundation hopes to finance and support programs that will help China enhance and strengthen international qualities of its educational system. Personally I will visit different universities and secondary schools to publicize the UIC experience and invite proposals of development. In addition, I will continue my own personal research in these related areas of educational reform.
Therefore, even though I will be leaving this current position and complete my duty as such, I will continue to serve the College, the two mother institutions and all of you in other ways and on different levels. My heart is always with the College and you.
Best wishes and may you prosper always!
Edmund
Editor: Richard Xu
MPRO
