Professor Li Si-ming, the first Geography Department scholar appointed Chair Professor, delivered his Inaugural Lecture on "China's Changing Urban Geography: A Review of Major Forces at Work" last Friday (24 March). The lecture, part of the Elizabeth Chan Cheng E-lay Geography Academic Lecture Series organised by the Geography Department, attracted more than 100 academics, guests, students and alumni. Mrs. Elizabeth Chan Cheng E-lay, founder of the Geography Academic Lecture/Seminar Fund, travelled from Bangkok to congratulate Professor Li at the lecture.

In an opening address, Professor Ng Ching-fai, President & Vice-Chancellor, paid tribute to Professor Li for his academic achievements and contributions to the University. President Ng said that through his strength of mind, perseverance, dedication and professionalism in teaching and research, Professor Li had become an internationally renowned scholar in his field. In his lecture, Professor Li, who joined the then Hong Kong Baptist College in 1980, reviewed the major forces shaping the urban landscape and geography in China during the past few decades.

At a dinner in honour of Professor Li, it was announced that alumni had donated more than HK$25,000 to the Geography Development Fund in support of the Geography Department's teaching and scholarly activities.

The Geography Department organized an Alumni Christmas Reunion Party on December 20, 2003 for the dual purposes of strengthening its ties with its alumni and fundraising. The event comprised of two sessions: In the afternoon, the Department and its facilities were opened to enable visiting alumni to meet with staff members. Simultaneously, a 2-hour session was held in which four alumni from different professions shared their experiences with current students, giving them information on potential career paths. (See photo below) In the evening a cocktail reception was followed by dinner at the Riverside Seafood Restaurant. A number of staff members addressed the guests, highlighting the achievements of the Department and introducing the matching grant scheme to the alumni.

The Department is grateful that Professor Y K Fan, Vice-President (Development), attended the dinner and gave a speech, and that President C F Ng and Dean Frank Fu attended the cocktail reception. Dr K K Wong, Head of the Geography Department, and Professor S M Li sang songs in an effort to raise generous sponsorships from the alumni, which amounted to tens of thousands of dollars. In all, there were 21 tables representing approximately 250 attendees and the atmosphere was warm and delightful.

It is noteworthy that the class of 1979 and the class of 1980 each had their own table, and that the older alumni made generous donations. The Department received donations of HK$150,000. This consisted of two major components: (1) the donations from staff, alumni and friends of the Department, and (2) the sponsorship of the event and a matching donation amounting to the total of all other donations in the proportion of 1:3 by the Chow Brothers' Education Fund of the Larry & Alex Chow family. Dr. Larry Chow, the longest serving staff member of the Department, served as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the event, with Professor S M Li, Dr. H Chung and Dr. K K Wong serving as members.

The Millennium Gathering of BU Geographers was successfully held on 14 October 2000. This gathering was the first of its kind not only in the Department's history, but also in the history of entire University. Alumni of all years came back to their alma mater and took part in the event Members of the Department Advisory Committee had also participated. Some 200 alumni of ours - 20% of all graduates of our Department - and 80-100 of our current students attended various parts of the day's programme.

The sharing session in the afternoon was well received by our current students. Our alumni provide vivid examples of how successfully BU geographers can be in building their career. Their successful stories demonstrate the validity of the holistic approach of geographical education in today's rapidly changing world, especially in Hong Kong, which is engulfed by the forces of globalization and by the political changes associated with our return to China.

Our alumni are our most valuable assets. They serve as the bridge between the Department and the community at large. They have in many occasions given us enormous support. These include, inter alia, their generous donations to the Geography Alumni Scholarship Fund, the setting up of Luk Yin Memorial Scholarship, and the sharing of their experience with the current cohorts of students. This "Millennium Gathering of BU Geographers" certainly would have invoked their memories of "the good old days" and strengthened their tie to the Department. This gathering, in a sense, is just a beginning. There is a need for us to identify effective means to maintain and strengthen the dialogue between the Department and our alumni.

The Department would like to take this opportunity to once again thanks all of our alumni, our current students, and our own teaching and support staff for the support of the event.