City University of Hong Kong (CityU) announced on 14 October the appointment of Professor Richard Ho Yan-ki as Provost, a newly established position that oversees matters relating to academic development of the University, with immediate effect for a period of three years.

Announcing the senior appointment, Professor Way Kuo, University President, said the new position was established in response to the fact that the University is at the important and challenging stage of preparing for the four-year undergraduate structure.

"The Provost will fulfill the role as a senior academic officer overseeing all academic and associated development of the University, including faculty appointments, retention and promotion, which will impact significantly our successful transformation to a modern curriculum with a more academic and strong research flavour," Professor Kuo said.

"We've seen CityU's international ranking going up again this year to 147th. Professor Ho has had a long distinguished academic record and I am pleased he has accepted this daunting task, helping the University to scale new heights in the future," he said.

Professor Kuo added the establishment of Provost is part of a new organisation structure to be put in place at CityU that features clear lines of responsibility and accountability by streamlining the operation of the University.

Professor Ho will relinquish his duties as Special Advisor to the President upon his assumption of the post of Provost. He will be assisted by a Vice-Provost of Academic Planning and Undergraduate Education, the Chief Information Officer, and the Director of CityU Press.

Describing the appointment as an opportunity for him to further contribute to the development of CityU "as an old soldier", Professor Ho said he would focus on strengthening existing and new academic programmes and recruiting high calibre academics in his new role.

"These areas are crucial to helping CityU achieve the position of global leadership and local preeminence in the next five years," Professor Ho said.

According to Professor Ho, consulting teams comprising international and local experts will conduct high level strategic review of existing programmes offered by existing faculties and schools, as well as new programmes to be developed in areas such as energy and environment and biomedical and advise the University of actions to be taken to further enhance its status in the global arena.

The University has also embarked on a worldwide search for talent that will see the recruitment of 200 high calibre academics to elevate the quality of research and teaching at CityU, as well as to meet the needs of the four-year curriculum, he added.

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Biography of Professor Richard Ho

Since joining CityU as Head of the Department of Economics and Finance in 1990, Professor Ho has made substantial contributions to the academic development of the University by taking up various senior managerial positions. Following his headship at the Department of Economics and Finance, he became Dean of Faculty of Business for 6 years before he was appointed as Dean of Undergraduate Education. He became Vice-President (Undergraduate Education) in 2006, and then assumed the role of Acting President for a year from May 2007.

Professor Ho received his BS from the University of Hawaii, and MS and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining CityU, he served in the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Baptist University.