Richard MORRIS Appointed to Head up Law Faculty Alumni Initiative
The Faculty of Law admitted its first students in 2006, and graduated its first students (two JD graduates) the following year. Since then, graduate numbers have grown to more than 4,000 and in the coming academic year our alumni numbers will top the 5,000 mark. This is another significant milestone on the Faculty’s journey, and one which we will mark by a greatly increased emphasis on alumni relations.
At a time when Universities in Hong Kong (and globally) are increasingly called upon to demonstrate the impact that they have on society, we would do well to remember that probably the greatest impact that we can have is through you, our alumni. So we need to reinforce the very special relationship that exists between you and the Faculty. Graduation should not be seen as the end of that relationship, but a change of emphasis, and the opening up of new opportunities for the Faculty to support you, and, we hope, for you to support the Faculty. Now, don’t worry. We are not going to ask you for money (well, not yet perhaps). But there are many ways in which you can support the Faculty in its mission to educate succeeding generations of young lawyers, and we would like to explore these with you. In return, we will shortly engage in a consultation exercise to identify ways in which we can serve and support our alumni community.
Central to the renewed emphasis on alumni relations is the establishment of a new post in the Faculty, at the level of Associate Dean, and I am very pleased to say that Mr. Richard MORRIS has agreed to take on this new role, as Associate Dean for Alumni and Professional Relations. He brings to this new role years of distinguished professional practice in Hong Kong, but many of you will be more familiar with Richard as Director of the PCLL, a position that he has held since July 2009. During this time, and under Richard’s able direction, we have seen the PCLL go from strength to strength. University policy means that Richard has to step down as Director, but that does have the great benefit of freeing him up to take on this new role. I look forward to working with Richard as Associate Dean, and I am sure you will get to know him, or know him better, in the weeks and months ahead as he takes forward this important development.
Christopher GANE
Dean of Faculty