Biotechnology expert proposed for top Chinese University of Hong Kong post
University council will consult staff, students and alumni, but teachers’ association vows to boycott exercise because it feels governing body fooled it
Born in Hong Kong and educated in the United States, Tuan is currently working at the University of Pittsburgh as director of the institution’s cellular and molecular engineering lab, executive vice-chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and a professor in the Department of Bioengineering.
He has been serving as a distinguished visiting professor and director of the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine at Chinese University.
The institution’s council said on Thursday that it would recommend Tuan to be the next vice-chancellor. It will hold a consultation of up to six weeks with staff, students and alumni, but the university’s teachers’ association vowed to boycott it, saying the council had fooled it by saying it was not sure who the candidate was.
In May 2016, Tuan was one of the 10 Carnegie Science Award winners for his “extensive experience in applying adult stem cells for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine”.
“He’s a good scientist, professionally speaking, with a major interest in bone and tendon regeneration,” Professor Chan Wai-yee of the university’s School of Biomedical Sciences said. “He used to chair the biology and medicine panel of the Research Grants Council so he should know better than others what improvements can be made to develop Hong Kong’s scientific research.
“I have high expectations of him. As a successful scholar who has worked for the Research Grants Council for so many years, he could at least reflect our wish for more funding and resources.”
However, Professor Chan King-ming, president of the Chinese University Teachers Association, said he was angry about the announcement and that staff and students were “being played by the university’s top administration”, who two weeks ago told the association they were still not sure about the candidate.
Chan King-ming also said Tuan lacked outstanding academic status and administrative experience. “Seldom were his papers published by top journals and he has never served at the level of deputy vice-chancellor or dean in any university,” the biochemistry scholar said.
