US professor Zhang Xiang set to be confirmed as next University of Hong Kong vice-chancellor
Recommendation from selection committee will be considered by governing council on Friday, registrar tells alumni in email
A Chinese-American scientist is set to be confirmed as the University of Hong Kong’s next vice-chancellor on Friday, after a months-long search for a replacement for incumbent Peter Mathieson, who resigned earlier this year.
Pending a nod from the university’s governing council, mechanical engineering professor Zhang Xiang, 54 this month, could step into the post as early as January to lead the city’s premier tertiary institution.
HKU has been embroiled in a spate of political controversies in recent times, such as a debate over advocacy on campus of Hong Kong independence.
The news was announced in an email to the university’s alumni early on Wednesday morning.
“I am pleased to inform you that the selection committee for the next president and vice-chancellor set up by the council has recommended the appointment of Professor Xiang Zhang. The recommendation of the selection committee will be considered by the council at a meeting to be held on the afternoon of December 15, 2017,” Registrar Henry Wai Wing-kun wrote.