Remembering Professor Chin Chuan Lee: Scholar, Mentor, and Founding Head of COM
← Go Back15 May 2026 (Fri) · Department News · Official report ›
On April 30, 2026, the Department of Media and Communication (COM) at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), in collaboration with the School of Journalism and Communication at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), held a memorial service to pay tribute to Professor Chin Chuan Lee, a renowned Chinese communication scholar. Professor Lee, who was the Founding Head of the department at CityUHK and served as Emeritus Chair Professor at CUHK, played a pivotal role in advancing communication studies, leaving behind a lasting legacy in the field.
A renowned expert in Communication Studies, Professor Lee graduated from Chengchi University in the 1970s and enjoyed a distinguished academic career at the University of Minnesota, CUHK, and CityUHK. Over the years, he mentored and inspired numerous scholars across various fields. Notably, he was the first Chinese scholar to receive the prestigious B. Aubrey Fisher Mentorship Award from the International Communication Association (ICA).
More than 100 colleagues, students, alumni, and friends joined the service, both in person and online. The distinguished attendees included Professor Way Kuo, Emeritus President and University Distinguished Professor at CityUHK; Professor Chan, Joseph Man, Emeritus Professor at CUHK's School of Journalism and Communication; and Professor So, Clement Y.K., Senior Research Fellow of the Faculty of Social Science at CUHK.
Professor Yi-Hui Christine Huang, Head and Chair Professor of COM, highlighted Professor Lee's exceptional academic contributions, particularly his pivotal role in initiating the "Young Scholar Visiting Program" (多聞雅集) within COM. This programme has successfully gathered a group of promising young scholars from across China, significantly advancing their integration into the global media studies landscape.
The service also brought together current faculty members, alumni, former CityUHK communication students, academics from CUHK, as well as prominent scholars and educators in communication studies from across East Asia, including Professor Zhou Baohua, Dean of the School of Journalism at Fudan University.