HONG KONG - The University of Hong Kong's governing council on Tuesday appointed Max Shen as the vice-president of research and Gong Peng as vice-president of academic development.

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The HKU Council also appointed Fu Hualing as the dean of law. All three were appointed for a five-year term.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the council said the appointments were made in accordance with the existing appointment system, which included a global search, as well as an elaborate review and consultation process.

HKU Vice-Chancellor Zhang Xiang welcomed the appointments, saying "Shen will help to expand the research enterprise of HKU and to strategically grasp opportunities brought about by the entrepreneurial globe."

"As VP Academic Development, Professor Gong will be in charge of the University’s strategies in recruiting and retaining a world-class and diverse faculty, facilitating a culture of academic excellence, and enabling faculty success at every stage of their career,” Zhang was as quoted by the release as saying.

The three professors appointed are internationally recognized as top scholars in their field of work.

Arthur Li, Chairman, HKU Council 

Zhang said he was pleased to have Fu at the helm of the faculty to bring it to new heights.

In a separate statement, HKU Council Chairman Arthur Li Kwok-cheung said the recommendations for appointment are results of thorough global search and elaborated consultation processes, "with the sole purpose of attracting the best talents" to fill the positions.

"The three professors appointed are internationally recognized as top scholars in their field of work," he added.

Li said due to recent speculations about the personal background of the two vice-president designates, the duo had made a special effort to clarify their positions, including a statement from Shen confirming that he is not a member of the Communist Party of China nor a Party committee member. 

"The issues of concern against the two professors have been satisfactorily clarified and that all allegations are found to be unsubstantiated," Li added.

Shen, an American Chinese, is the head of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Beijing-based Tsinghua University, and also a professor and department chairman at the University of California, Berkeley, where he co-directs an environment and new-energy center. Gong is head of Tsinghua’s Department of Earth System Science, and a professor emeritus at UC Berkeley.

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The HKU Council said positions were internationally advertised and close to 200 candidates for each search were identified. The final candidates visited HKU where they further met with the search committee and a wider stakeholder groups of the university community. The recommendations of appointment were made having taken into account the advice of the committee and the inputs of stakeholder groups, according to the release.