10 During the course of this academic year, we will be bidding farewell to two distinguished colleagues. Professor Paul Tam, former acting Vice Chancellor, interim Provost, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Vice President ( Research ) and Associate Dean ( Research ) will be retiring from HKU and joining the Macau University of Science and Technology, working alongside its President Professor Joseph Lee who was HKU’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for staffing, or in today’s nomenclature academic development. I am glad though that he will be continuing his research at the University, not least in the Theme-based Research Scheme programme headed by Dr Vincent Lui, his protégé. Without Paul, there would have been no TRS, full stop. Professor Keiji Fukuda, Director of the School of Public Health, who was first introduced to Hong Kong during the 1997 avian influenza outbreak as part of the US CDC delegation will be retiring to Atlanta, home of the CDC, completing the full circle of the past quarter century. Keiji has long been a personal friend and global health collaborator, through SARS, MERS, the 2009 swine flu pandemic and of course the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I still remember well the many conversations I and others had had with Keiji, persuading him to come to HKUMed. These took several years spanning different continents, from Geneva to Atlanta to Doha, before two important women would support his move – Holly his dear dear wife and Dr Margaret Chan, former Director-General of the World Health Organization and his former boss. I thank them both for having supported Keiji and HKU throughout these years of his service to the University and wish him and Holly well. Professor Paul Tam Kwong-hang Professor Keiji Fukuda ( Centre )
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mzg4NDg0