Wei Zhao’s contract termination under investigation

Wei Zhao

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture has asked the Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) to launch an investigation regarding the terms of University of Macau’s (UM) rector, Wei Zhao’s, contract.

Wei’s resignation from the UM will take effect on December 31. The following day, he will join the American University of Sharjah, located in the United Arab Emirates, as Chief Research Officer. An anonymous complaint sent to the UM claimed that if this occurs, Zhao Wei would be in breach of his contract with UM as it has a clause that requires a cooling off period.

Last week, the UM issued a statement which denied the existence of such a clause: “Prof Wei Zhao submitted his resignation to the Chief Executive in accordance with established procedures and obtained the approval from the Chief Executive. According to the stipulations regarding the professional career grades for academic staff stated in the Charter of the University of Macau, there are no requirements for a ‘cooling-off period’. As for where Prof Wei Zhao will go after leaving his post, the university respects his decision.”

Yesterday, Alexis Tam noted that Wei Zhao delivered his request to his superior asking for resignation, and that the request was approved.

Regarding whether Wei Zhao violated his contract with UM, Tam said that once there is a conclusion from the GAES investigation, it will be announced.

Zhao has served as the eighth rector of the University of Macau since 2008. Before joining the University of Macau, Professor Zhao served as the Dean of the School of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the U.S.

Following his resignation, Yonghua Song has been appointed the ninth rector of the UM and will assume office on January 9, 2018.

The University Council unanimously recommended Song to the Chief Executive as the only candidate for the post, which the CE accepted.

The newly-appointed rector has held several leadership positions at U.K. and Chinese universities, and has actively promoted internationalization and institutional cooperation.

In a UM press release, Song says that he “is particularly familiar with the development and operational models of higher education institutions in Europe, the United States and Asia.”

Song was previously a member of the Standing Committee of the China Communist Party (CPC) at Zhejiang University.