(Courtesy of interviewee)
Donna Chu
Director, School of Journalism and Communication
15-year award
Professor Donna Chu is not an easy person to interview. Her deep knowledge of the media means that our half-hour phone call is repeatedly punctuated with moments when she takes issue with the presuppositions behind the questions. Deep in her placid and mellifluous voice, however, there is sincerity and wisdom—which, one may conjecture, comes through constant probing of her mind and her life experiences.
Well before “slasher” entered modern discourse as a term for someone who combines different careers, Professor Chu was one. Keen on trying out different things, she became a freelancer upon graduating from CUHK’s journalism school—then the Department of Journalism and Communication—in the early 1990s. For eight years, she juggled studying for a master’s and a doctorate with scriptwriting, television and film making, interviewing and teaching. That such a free spirit works for an institution and has stayed with it for more than a decade is no mean feat in itself. This, Professor Chu says, has much to do with the “intrinsic freedom” afforded her by the job.
“As an academic, you can start and work on different projects and meet different students throughout the year. Quite fortunately, for years I had a hand in organising various I·CARE activities. The enjoyment I gain here is not so much different from the joy of freelancing. Of course, the setting is the same; coming to the Humanities Building day by day and seeing the same colleagues felt fresh to me.”
Started in 2011, the I·CARE programme bears the stamp of Professor Chu’s vision and imagination. From its inception to 2017, she was deeply involved in its signature events, among them the floral, book and film festivals, and the University Lecture on Civility.
“We came together and set the topic, inviting and liaising with guests, much like the media production I did in the past,” she says.
The subtle, heartfelt messages on I·CARE’s promotional materials, which resonate with many students and alumni, were penned by Professor Chu. A testament to her love for her alma mater, they reflect the programme’s educational ideals: to provide a space where students may acquaint themselves with different schools of thought, or learn to process certain experiences and emotions. “It feels like only CUHK possesses such an eclectic ethos for this.”
Throughout her long teaching career, Professor Chu has treasured accompanying her students. “University life is such a short and hectic time. For us, four or 15 years pass in the blink of an eye and one year differs little from another. With our students, this is not the case: the four years at university are the prime of their lives. I don’t talk of or believe in achievement; but if there is really something I manage to do and stick with, let it be putting my students first.
“The moment a student approaches you, it may be that she earnestly wants to tell or ask you something, or that she wants you to be there to cry and laugh with her. These moments are as invaluable as they are fleeting and irreplicable. If she can’t find me, she will get on with her life, but I will try my best to be there for them,” she says. “If one day I am no longer in this job, I will cherish these moments and take pride in myself.”
By Amy Li
