United Board Centennial Activities

• Greetings from Dr. Nancy Chapman, President, United Board
• Greetings from Mr. Ricky M. Cheng, Executive Vice President, United Board
• Documentary & United Board Anthem

Opening Remarks

Be a Transformative Leader: Learning to Serve and Serving to Learn

• Ka Ho Mok, Vice President and Chair Professor, Lingnan University, Hong Kong SAR

Higher education institutions have been affected adversely by the unprecedented global health crisis resulted from the outbreak and widespread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In view of the diverse learning needs of students, university leaders must go beyond the conventional practices to try creative and innovative modes of learning and teaching by adopting a mixed mode of delivery of teaching / learning activities. Learning to serve and serving to learn is core to enhance student learning. This presentation reviews the recent survey related to university students’ evaluation of having online learning alone. Based upon the survey results, the presentation highlights the importance of developing a hybrid mode of teaching / learning to make students as engaged learners. With s service mind to engage in teaching and learning, university leaders should aspire to become transformative leaders, promoting positive changes in higher education.

Keynote Dialogue Session

Academic Leadership at the Confluence of the 4^th Industrial Revolution and the Covid Pandemic

• Deane Neubauer, Emeritus Professor, Former Vice President, University of Hawai’i, Manoa, USA
• Ngo Thi Phuong Lan, President, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam

Higher education institutions are moving into “new territory” as their already initiated but varied engagements with the 4^th IR have encountered the multiple disruptions brought about by the Covid Pandemic. In this presentation we will examine both strategic and operational implications of these factors on higher education academic leadership processes and practices. Of particular note is the awareness of how some of these disruptive factors will prove to be of “passing awareness,” whereas others represent what are likely to emerge as fundamental structural changes in higher education. The presentation seeks to detail the kinds of changes within academic leadership likely to be most successful in meeting these challenges.

Networking Virtual Game

Fellows will enjoy three fun games, facilitated by Dr. Francis Julius N. Evangelista, Quality Assurance Director of Miriam College.

Panel Conversation & Breakout Discussion

This panel will invite three alumni representing three different countries. The first part will consist of a panel conversation, for invited alumni to share about innovative measures in their home institution/country in facing the new normal, and what strategies they’ve been taken for the re-opening of campuses. We will also explore the importance of leadership during such critical times and best practices for crisis management. The second part will be a 30-minute breakout session for Fellows to share their own experiences in facing the COVID-19 pandemic, and how each of us exhibit holistic leadership.  

Panel on Research Findings of United Board Fellows Program Impact Study

• Dr. Weiyan Xiong, Research Assistant Professor, Lingnan University, Hong Kong SAR
• Dr. Yuyang Kang, Research Fellow, Lingnan University, Hong Kong SAR

Attending to Your Ongoing Leadership Development: Finding Ways to Keep Learning and Growing

• Dr. Joseph P. Zolner, Adjunct Lecturer on Education, Former Senior Director, Harvard Institutes for Higher Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, USA

Session Overview

Follow-up Reading

Dr. Nancy E. Chapman

United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia

Nancy E. Chapman served as a United Board trustee for eight years and was appointed president in 2011. She is responsible for overseeing the United Board’s programs, management, and strategic planning. From 2008 to 2011, she served as associate master and dean of general education at The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Morningside College, and, from 1994 to 2008, as executive director of the Yale-China Association. She earlier held the positions of program officer for Asia programs at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and founding director of the Institute of International Education’s office in China. She was awarded a BA degree from Yale University and MA and PhD degrees from Princeton University.

Mr. Ricky M. Cheng

United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia

Ricky Cheng was appointed as the United Board’s executive vice president in November 2014, after serving as vice president for development since October 2010. In his role as executive vice president, he retains the responsibilities for development but also give special attention to the organization’s strategic planning and future directions.

Prior to joining the United Board, Mr. Cheng was the director who established the Office of Institutional Advancement at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2003. His responsibility covered all areas of advancement. He also has more than 20 years of professional experience in the private sector, in Hong Kong and the United States. Ricky is a CPA from California and holds an Executive MBA degree from CUHK.

Prof. Ka Ho Mok

Lingnan University 

Ka Ho Mok is the Vice-President and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Comparative Policy of Lingnan University, Hong Kong. Before joining Lingnan, he was the Vice President (Research and Development) and Chair Professor of Comparative Policy of The Education University of Hong Kong, and the Associate Dean and Professor of Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong. Prior to this, Prof. Mok was appointed as the Founding Chair Professor in East Asian Studies and established the Centre for East Asian Studies at the University of Bristol in the UK.

Prof. Mok is no narrow disciplinary specialist but has worked creatively across the academic worlds of sociology, political science, and public and social policy while building up his wide knowledge of China and the region. Prof. Mok completed his undergraduate studies in Public and Social Administration at the City University of Hong Kong in 1989, and received an MPhil and PhD in Sociology from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1991 and The London School of Economics and Political Science in 1994 respectively. 

Prof. Deane Neubauer

University of Hawaii, Manoa 

Deane Neubauer is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Hawaii, Manoa (UHM). He holds a BA from the University of California Riverside and an MA and PhD from Yale University. He has taught at the University of California, Irvine (1965-1970) prior to taking a position at UHM.

He was the founding dean of Social Sciences at UHM from 1981-1988, and in 1999 the founder of the Globalization Research Center and the Globalization Research Network, a collaboration of four U.S. universities, positions he held through 2004. He has also served as Chancellor of UHM (2000-2001) and as the Vice President for Academic Affairs (2000-2003) for the ten-campus University of Hawaii system. From 2004-2020 he served as a consultant to the Education Program of the East West Center. Since 2013 he has been co-director with Professor Ka Ho Mok of the Asia-Pacific Higher Education Research Partnership (APHERP) currently located at Lingnan University, Hong Kong.

Dr. Ngô Thị Phương Lan

University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University

Ngô Thị Phương Lan holds the master’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Toronto (Canada), the doctorate degree in Ethnology from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM). Her area of interest is economic anthropology, especially livelihoods of various communities in Vietnam. Since 2013, she had been the vice president of the University in charge of research management and post-graduate studies. She has then become the president of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNUHCM since April 26th, 2018.

Dr. Francis Julius N. Evangelista

Miriam College

Francis Julius N. Evangelista is a Philosophy Professor at Miriam College, Philippines. He is currently the Quality Assurance Director of the said institution where he has also served as Chair of its Philosophy Department, Associate Dean for Academic Support Services, and Graduate Program Coordinator of its Higher Education Unit. He obtained his doctorate degree in Philosophy of Education at the University of the Philippines-Diliman where he also teaches as a Senior Lecturer. Among the books he previously published are Legal Logic (2015) and Ethics: Theories and Applications (2020).

Dr. Merlin Teodosia Suarez

De La Salle University

Merlin Teodosia Suarez, PhD is Professor of Computer Science at De La Salle University (Philippines), where she works on systems that analyze user emotions and behavior using machine learning. She is part of the United Board Fellow Batch 2017. As an administrator, she served as Dean of the College of Computer Studies at De La Salle University where she spearheaded the revision of its curriculum to conform to outcomes-based education principles. She also served as Vice-Chancellor for Academics at De La Salle University.  

Dr. Yoonsun Lee

Seoul Women’s University

Yoonsun Lee is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at Seoul Women’s University (SWU). She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Washington, U.S.A., and she worked as director in the division of Assessment for Washington State’s Department of Education. From 2008 to 2018, she has served in various administrative positions at SWU. Specifically, she served as Dean of the Office of Student’s Affairs, as Director of International Affairs and as Dean of the Office of General Affairs. Through these serving experiences, she was responsible for global networking and collaboration, support for student’s affairs, accounting, human resource development, and management of facilities. She is currently Dean of the Office of Budget and Strategic Planning and Director of the Institute for Character Education at SWU. She is also a 2017-2018 United Board fellow.

Dr. Anil Joseph Pinto

Christ University

Anil Joseph Pinto has been serving as the Registrar of Christ University, Bangalore, India since 2012. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Performing Arts, Theatre Studies and Music. He has his Masters in English Literature and PhD on Self-Translation. He was the Coordinator of Centre for Publications of the University from 2011-2019 which publishes six peer-reviewed journals and books in English and Kannada. He has published articles and translations in English, Kannada and Konkani. He was a United Board Fellow from 2014-2016 and his Fellowship placements at Baylor University, Texas, USA in 2014 and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong in 2015. His interests include history and philosophy of higher education and higher education leadership.  

Dr. Iwan Setyawan

Satya Wacana Christian University

Iwan Setyawan is currently a Lecturer at the Faculty of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Satya Wacana Christian University in Salatiga, Indonesia. He has been with the university since 2005. Dr. Setyawan is the former Dean of the Faculty of Electronic and Computer Engineering, an appointment he served from 2012 to 2017. Since November 2017, he has been serving as the Deputy Rector for Academic Affairs at Satya Wacana. In addition to his research interests in the Electronic Engineering field, Dr. Setyawan is also interested in the development of a holistic (whole person) education curriculum, particularly after his experiences as a visiting scholar during his participation in the United Board Fellows program, 2014-2016 cohort. He firmly believes that whole person education is the correct instrument with which to prepare students to contribute to the society, and is actively participating in shaping the curriculum at Satya Wacana towards this goal.   

Dr. Weiyan Xiong

Lingnan University 

Weiyan Xiong is a Research Assistant Professor at Lingnan University, Hong Kong. He is also serving as the Director of the MA Program in International Higher Education and Management (IHEM). His research interests include comparative and international education, indigenous education, liberal arts education, and faculty professional development. He received his PhD in Higher Education Management from the University of Pittsburgh, and used to work as a Program Coordinator of Institute for International Studies in Education at the University of Pittsburgh, and a Visiting Student Researcher at Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues of UC Berkeley. His book Ethnic Minority-Serving Institutions: Higher Education Cases Studies from the United States and China was recently published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Dr. Yuyang Kang

Lingnan University

Yuyang Kang is Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong. Her research interests include higher education management, youth development, public management and performance in general. Her current research projects focus on higher education development in the Great Bay Area of China and professional development at universities in South East Asia. Dr Kang was a recipient of Hong Kong PhD Fellowship from 2017 to 2020. She was also the awardee of Sino-British Fellowship Trust Fund and Fung Scholarship.

Dr. Joseph P. Zolner

Harvard University

Joseph P. Zolner is an Adjunct Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). From 1999 to 2018, he served as Senior Director of the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education, a role that included responsibility for the quality, relevance, and variety of executive education programs offered by HGSE for the higher education community. He is currently Educational Chair of the Management Development Program (MDP) and also served as Educational Chair of the United Board Fellows Program from 2017 through 2019. Prior to his work at Harvard University, Dr. Zolner served in administrative positions at Union College, Northeastern University, and Dartmouth College. His interests include leadership, the higher education curriculum change process, and higher education leadership development.

Dr. Wai Ching Angela Wong

United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia

Wai Ching Wong lives and grew up in Hong Kong and received her doctorate from the University of Chicago. She was a long-time faculty member of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, serving the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, and headed the Graduate Divisions of Cultural Studies and Gender Studies, the Gender Research Centre, and many academic programs. Ecumenically committed, she was a member of the board of trustees of the United Board (2002-2012) and the Presidium of Christian Conference of Asia (2000-2005); the chairperson (1995-1999) and regional secretary (1993-1995) of the World Student Christian Federation; and co-moderator of the Congress of Asian Theologians (2000-2004). As an academic, she has published widely in Chinese and English on topics of religion, gender, and culture in Asia.