Old Wine in New Bottles: Liberal Education and the 4-Year Curriculum in HK (Prof. Bobby Fong, President, Ursinus College, USA)

GEO & Local Events

banner

Old Wine in New Bottles: Liberal Education and the 4-Year Curriculum in Hong Kong

 

Old Wine in New Bottles:
Liberal Education and the 4-Year Curriculum in Hong Kong 

 

We live in interesting times. When American colleges are fighting to maintain standards for liberal learning and focusing increasingly on career preparation, Hong Kong is making room for general education (GE). Prof. Fong, who has been an academic for 35 years as a professor of English, academic dean, and president, believes that we are on the right track. In this rapidly changing world where one-third of college graduates will work at jobs that don’t yet exist, it is now even more crucial to develop a GE programme that is thoughtful and comprehensive to prepare students for challenges.

 

In this lecture, Prof. Fong will first examine the changes of higher education in various vantage points, e.g. finance, technology, expectations of the employers, etc. By illustrating the 4 essential learning outcomes which were enunciated by the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), he will share why and how liberal learning is necessary, and discuss how a strong GE programme can equip students to be successful not just in their careers, but also to be contributing citizens and leaders in a global society.

 

Date: 18 Sept 2013 (Wednesday) 

Time: 10:45am – 12:00pm

Venue: WLB109, Lam Woo International Conference Centre, Shaw Campus, HKBU


All are welcome!

 

Biography of our Honorable Speaker

Self Photos / Files - Bobby-Fong-at-Ursinus-College-web Prof. Bobby Fong
President, Ursinus College, USA
Immediate past Chair of the Board of AAC&U

Prof. Bobby Fong graduated magna cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in English at Harvard University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1978, he earned a doctorate in English Literature from the University of California-Los Angeles. 

 

Prof. Fong’s academic career began at Berea College in Kentucky, where he taught from 1978 to 1989. He then became Dean of Arts and Humanities and Professor of English at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. In 1995, he accepted the position as Dean of the Faculty and Professor of English at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. In 2001 he became President of Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, one of only 20 Asian-American college presidents in the United States. The University realized improvements in student life, for which he won the President’s Award from NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

Active in many higher education associations, Prof. Fong is Board Chair of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and served on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the American Council for Education’s National Task Force on Institutional Accreditation, on the board of the Lingnan University Foundation, and the 100,000 Strong State Department initiative which encourages Americans to study in China.

 

 
For enquiries, please contact Miss Mei Chan at ge@hkbu.edu.hk or 3411 2014.

 

Old Wine in New Bottles: Liberal Education and the 4-Year Curriculum in Hong Kong

新瓶舊酒: 通識教育與香港四年制學位課程

The Essential Learning Outcomes

Liberally Educating China

HKBUTube