Lingnan University (Lingnan) hosted “The Coming-of-Age For Liberal Arts Education in 21st Century Asia-Pacific” today to celebrate Lingnan’s progress in introducing liberal arts to Hong Kong and the region a decade ago. The conference also serves as a platform for discussion on the long-term development of liberal arts education in the region.

The conference was officiated by Mr Michael Stone, Secretary-General of University Grants Committee and Professor Chan Yuk-Shee, President of Lingnan. (from left) Mr Matthew Estes, Ms Lauren Tien, Mr Bernard Chan, Prof Jesús Seade, Ms Chiang Lai-yuen and Mr Patrick Wong at the Lingnan University Liberal Arts Conference 2009.

In his opening speech, Mr Stone said Lingnan has played a distinctive role extolling the liberal arts philosophy among UGC funded institutions in higher education.

President Chan welcomed the delegates, adding that the panel discussion of liberal arts graduates adds to the understanding as how students benefits from the education model.

The panel discussion in the afternoon session was chaired by Vice-President Professor Jesús Seade. The five graduates of Lingnan and overseas liberal arts colleges who were invited to share their experiences and views in liberal arts education. They were: Mr Bernard Chan, Council Chairman of Lingnan; Ms Chiang Lai-yuen, Chief Executive Officer of Chen Hsong Holdings Ltd; Mr Matthew J Estes, President and CEO of BabyCare Ltd; Ms Lauren Tien, Product Director of G2000 (Apparel) Ltd and Mr Patrick Wong, Partner of JSM.

The two overseas speakers at the conference were: Professor David Oxtoby, President of Pomona College and Professor Peter McCagg, Dean of International Affairs at International Christian University (ICU).

In his presentation “Liberal Arts Education for the 21st Century: From Claremont to Asia”, Professor Oxtoby compared the “professional training” of higher education with the liberal arts approach, then argued that the latter is of critical importance for the challenges of the 21st century.

Professor McCagg’s presentation was on “Nurturing Liberal Arts Education in Japan: The Case of International Christian University”, in which he shared the success story of ICU and provided an analysis on the future challenges of his university.

The two speakers from Lingnan are Professor William Lee, Associate Vice-President (Academic Affairs) and Professor Richard Davis, Chair Professor & Head, Department of History. Professor Lee spoke on Lingnan’s strategies in implementation the 4-year university system, in his presentation, “Liberal Arts Education at Lingnan University: Preparation for the 4-Year System”.

“A Medley of Liberal Arts Models: A Teacher’s View” was presented by Professor Davis who drew upon his personal experience as faculty member at three prominent University-Colleges: Middlebbury College, Duke University and Brown University. He also discussed the potential for replicating the best liberal arts practices for Lingnan.

About Lingnan University
Founded in Guangzhou in 1888, and re-established in Hong Kong in 1967,  Lingnan University today is committed to the provision of quality education distinguished by the best liberal arts tradition. It adopts a whole-person approach to education which enables its students to think, judge, care and, ultimately, act responsibly in the changing circumstances of Hong Kong, the region and the world.

Lingnan is characterized by a small student body, a residential campus, close faculty-student relationship and an emphasis on exchange and extra-curricular learning experiences. These characteristics are reflected in five areas, namely curricula, teaching and learning, campus life, internationlisation and community service.