City University of Hong Kong

Yeung Building level 4

Yeung Kin Man Academic Building, formerly known as Academic 1, was also called "teaching building" in 2006 or before.[19] It was completed in stages from 1989 to 1994. The floor area is 63,000 square metres, and includes 116 laboratories, 18 lecture halls, classrooms and canteens. The building is divided by colour, in order of purple zone (P), green zone (G), blue zone (B), yellow zone (Y) and red zone (R). Except for the lecture halls, all classrooms and laboratories are numbered by their colour divisions.

Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building, previously called Academic 2,[20] was designed by architecture firm Aedas. With a total area of 20,900 square metres, it is located on the slope behind the sports complex on the campus, and is equipped with a resource centre, design room, computer room, language practice room, and student dining hall, classrooms, lecture halls, audio-visual rooms, multi-purpose activity rooms and sky gardens.

Lau Ming Wai Academic Building was called Academic 3.[21] The academic building project is divided into two phases. The first phase is a 20-storey high-rise building, and the second phase is a five-storey low-rise building with a total usable area of 20,500 square metres. It is the tallest building in CityU. Facilities include a 600-seat auditorium, classrooms, information technology laboratories, millimetre wave state key laboratories, restaurants, learning shared spaces, and administrative offices.[22] The building was designed by the Hong Kong architectural firm Ronald Lu & Partners. The third and sixth floors are connected to the Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building, while the fifth to seventh floors are connected to the student dormitory and Shaw Creative Media Centre. There are also terrace gardens on the 6th, 7th and 8th floors.

Shaw Creative Media Centre

Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre was completed in 2011.[23] It was designed by Daniel Libeskind cooperating with Leigh and Orange Ltd., and received several awards on its design.[24] The building houses the university's School of Creative Media, the Centre for Applied Computing and Interactive Media and the computer science, media and communication, and English departments.[25]

Hu Fa Kuang Sports Centre was a five-storey sports centre which houses a multi-purpose hall and four practice gymnasiums for badminton, basketball, volleyball, martial arts and dance, and other activities. In May 2016, the sports hall roof collapsed due to the weight imposed by a new green roof placed on top.[26]

In November 2017, the university decided to rebuild the sport hall into the Jockey Club One Health Tower, which is expected to be completed in 2022.[27]

The council is the supreme governing body of the University. The chief executive of Hong Kong has the power to appoint 15 of the 23 council members, seven of which are named directly and eight appointed upon recommendation of the council. The chief executive can also appoint the chairman, deputy and treasurer; the vice-chancellor is in turn appointed by the council.[29]

The senate serves as the supreme academic body of the university and is responsible for deciding and reforming the university's academic policies. It is mainly composed of academic staff members but also includes the two representatives of the Students' Union and an representative of CityU Postgraduate Association.[30]

Student residences are located on Cornwall Street, near Lau Ming Wai academic building. They provide housing and recreational space for undergraduates and postgraduates. Among them, halls 1 to 9 were designed by the British firm RMJM, while halls 10 and 11 were designed by P&T Group. Most halls are named after donors:[32]

• Undergraduates: Jockey Club Humanity Hall (Hall 1), HSBC Prosperity Hall (Hall 2), Alumni Civility Hall (Hall 3), Jockey Club Academy Hall (Hall 4), Chan Sui Kau Hall (Hall 5), Lee Shau Kee Hall (Hall 6), Jockey Club Harmony Hall (Hall 7), Sir Gordon and Lady Ivy Wu Hall (Hall 9), Hall 10, Hall 11
• Research postgraduates: Yip Yuen Yuk Hing Hall (Hall 8), Jockey Club House

The university also provides off-campus accommodation and short term accommodation for non-local students.

Student clubs in CityU are diverse. There are more than 80 clubs from interest groups, residents’ associations and departmental Societies, along with cultural groups including orchestra, choir and debate teams.[33]

Sport teams are mentored by Student Development Services. In April 2017, they have extended their dominance in sports competitions by winning a record-breaking ninth Grand Slam in the 2016-2017 annual sports competitions.[34]

City University of Hong Kong Press was founded in 1996 as the publishing arm of the university.[35]

It mainly publishes three types of publications: academic works, professional books, and books of general interest and social concern. The press focuses on China studies, Hong Kong studies, Asian studies, politics and public policy.

On 20 May 2016, the roof structure of a multi-purpose sports hall, named Chan Tai Ho Multi-purpose Hall (the Sports Hall), in Hu Fa Kuang Sports Centre (the Sports Centre) collapsed. Two staff members of CityU sustained minor injuries and a third individual was in shock in the incident. The venue was scheduled to hold the annual celebration banquet of CityU athletes on that night and 700 to 800 student athletes were supposed to attend.[45] The investigation report released by the Buildings Department said three factors contributed to the collapse - a leveled layer of material applied to the surface of the roof structure being thicker than the original design, the laying of greenery on the roof and large puddles of water.[46] CityU did not seek separate advice from an independent surveyor to conduct feasibility studies and designs before tendering out to consultants or contractors to carry out the project. The report issued by CityU investigation committee concluded that contractor of the green roof project held liable for the collapse of the roof at a sports centre, despite his repeated denial that he was involved in the work.[47] It was reported that CityU vice-president Sunny Lee Wai-kwong, who oversees the Campus Development and Facilities Office escaped liability, while technical staff would face disciplinary action.[47]

In 2017 City University was accused of falsifying student data for a better ranking.[48][49] City University said they would submit the case to external audit firm to verify the data.[49]

City University of Hong Kong has been accused of providing misleading information to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) to boost its university rankings. However, the QS review confirmed that the data submitted by CityU is accurate. In January 2018, CityU issued a statement stating that it had commissioned an accounting firm to complete an independent review of the student data declared by CityU and confirmed that it found no declarations that did not meet the scope of QS requirements.[50]

On October 20, 2018, National Judges College under the Supreme People's Court of China had uploaded an article to its website about a meeting held by “provisional branches of the Chinese Communist Party” at CityU. According to the article, 39 party members, including Huang Wenjun, president and party secretary of the National Judges College and 11 non-party members, attended the meeting and gave a lecture. Huang told attendees that judges must take a “clear-cut stance” on politics, increase their political sensitivity, learn socialism with Chinese characteristics in President Xi Jinping's new era, and that they should fight against “incorrect words and deeds.” [51][52] Despite the party branches were formed by Chinese judges who studied at CityU, Professor Lin Feng, associate dean of CityU's law school who liaised with the college in organizing the courses, said the lecture “had caught the faculty by surprise”. Pro-Beijing legislator Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, an associate law professor at CityU, refused to comment, claiming that she did not aware of the arrangement.[52] Spokesperson for the CityU said it maintains political neutrality and that no activities involving politics should be held inside campuses.[51]

In October 2019, Professor Tan who was teaching a digital marketing course sent an email to the students, which warned the students not to deliver any political messages in class presentations or they will be given zero marks. The e-mail caused dissatisfaction among the students.[53] Pro-democracy group Frontline Technology Workers pointed out that the presentations were relevant to the course although it was touching the social taboo.[54] They also highlighted academic journal articles which discussed the relationship between politics and marketing.[55][56][57] Students' Union questioned university's promise on academic autonomy.[58]

In November 2019, CityU prohibited all student entering the campus and student hostel area, as protestors damaged some of the facilities during the Siege of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. CityU reopened campus on November 30 but staff and students will be required to present their identity cards to gain entry.[59] In December, hoarding panels has been built surrounding the whole campus and turnstiles have been installed at all entrances. CityU issued a press release, stating that the vast majority of members of the Senate and the Court of CityU supported the improvement of campus security measures and the installation of an electronic access system.[60] Students' Union responded that all the representatives of the Student Union unanimously opposed the installation of turnstiles, and the representatives also voted against it in the Court's meeting. The Student Union quoted an earlier questionnaire survey conducted by the CityU Staff Association, stating that most of the respondents agree that "university campuses should be opened to the public." The Students' Union has repeatedly expressed objections to the university's policy of prohibiting public access to the campus and urged the university to consult teachers and students on the issue.[60]