Shue Yan co-founder honoured in rankings
Shue Yan University co-founder and vice-president Chung Chi-yung has been voted the city's sixth-best university leader in an annual popularity poll, beating three others in her first ranking test.
The 88-year-old co-founder of the city's only private university, included in annual rankings commissioned by Education 18.com for the first time this year, scored an average of 6.61 points out of 10, beating the heads of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Lingnan University and City University.
University of Science and Technology's Paul Chu Ching-wu, the best university leader in last year's poll, shared first place this year with University of Hong Kong's Tsui Lap-chee. Both scored 7.67 points.
Chinese University's Lawrence Lau Juen-yee ranked third with 7.09 points, while Polytechnic University's Poon Chung-kwong was fourth with 6.98 points. Baptist University's Ng Ching-fai ranked fifth on 6.66.
Three presidents who took office early this year filled the bottom three places. HKIEd's Anthony Cheung Bing-leung scored 6.25 points, City University's Way Kuo 6.23 and Lingnan University's Chan Yuk-shee 6.15.
The rankings took into account leaders' local and international reputations, approachability, leadership, vision, social credibility and public relations.
HKU maintained its ranking as the most popular institution in the 10 years since the survey began. It scored 8.11 points on a scale of 10. Chinese University came second on 7.67, followed by HKUST, which scored 7.38 points, and Polytechnic University with 7 points.
The rankings were based on phone interviews with 1,213 members of the public and 112 secondary school principals, by pollsters from University of Hong Kong's public opinion programme, between late last month and early this month.
Joy Shi Mei-chun, editor of the online information group, said Dr Chung had impressed the public and principals with her persistence and dedication to education.
Dr Chung and her husband, Henry Hu Hung-lick, founded Shue Yan College in 1971 and have made substantial financial and personal efforts to support the institution, leading to it becoming a university in 2006.
