Professor James J. Heckman, a Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences in 2000, joined CUHK as a Distinguished Professor-at-Large in January, for a period of three years.

He also assumed the same role at CUHK-Shenzhen in July for the same duration.

During his tenure at CUHK and CUHK-Shenzhen, Professor Heckman will regularly visit both campuses to give lectures and share his expertise with the CUHK community. He is dedicated to promoting exchange and collaborations between CUHK’s Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance and the University of Chicago’s Center for the Economics of Human Development, which he launched and directs.

The University is planning to host a public lecture by Professor Heckman next year.

Professor Heckman is currently the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College of the University of Chicago, with much of his work focused on the impact of different social programmes and the methodologies used to measure those programmes’ effects.

A leading champion of early childhood education and development, Professor Heckman has put forward that the return on public investment in the area can be as much as 13%. This has significantly helped elevate the status of pre-school education around the world, including bringing about the implementation of educational reforms in Hong Kong.

His work on the microeconometrics of diversity and heterogeneity within populations, and establishment of a sound causal basis for public policy evaluation, has earned him acclaim that has included a share of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2000.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, his contributions have also been acknowledged with the Dan David Prize, the Frisch Medal, the Chinese government’s prestigious Friendship Award and more.

 Professor Heckman was conferred an honorary Doctor of Social Science degree by CUHK in June this year for his profound influence on global policymaking and his philanthropy in supporting underprivileged people.

The Distinguished Professor-at-Large is a specially created chair with university-wide responsibilities, providing quality education and strengthening relationships between Hong Kong and the international scholarly community.

Apart from Professor Heckman, three other world-renowned academics are serving CUHK in this role, including Professor Yang Chen-ning, the first Chinese Nobel Laureate; Professor Andrew Yao Chi-chih, the only Chinese scientist to receive the prestigious Turing Award, the highest honour in computer science; and Professor Yau Shing-tung, Director of CUHK’s Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the first Chinese Fields Medallist (who holds the title of Distinguished Visiting Professor-at-Large).