據香港大學官網2月2日發布的公告稱，香港大學校長馬斐森已經正式辭職。大學校務委員會將開展全球招聘遴選新校長的工作。上述公告提到，馬斐森的5年任期合約原至2019年3月始完結，馬斐森表示辭職的決定是基于個人原因，于2月2日發電郵給港大大學成員告知他的決定。經過與家人的詳細商量之后，他決定出任英國愛丁堡大學的校長一職。

57歲的馬斐森是英國醫學學者、臨床醫學專家，自2004年擔任布里斯托大學醫科及牙科學院院長。2014年4月，就任為香港大學校長至今，接替離任的徐立之，任期5年。馬斐森就任后，面對多次校內爭議，包括副校長任命風波及校委會會議被包圍等。但對于此次離職實際，港大學生表示震驚，很多同學對校長辭職感到非常意外。

以下是馬校發給全體港大的同學和老師們的郵件，具體內容如下：

Important message from Professor Peter Mathieson, President and Vice-Chancellor

Dear colleagues, students, alumni and friends,

I am writing to inform you that I have resigned as your President and Vice-Chancellor, and I plan to leave HKU in January 2018. Thereafter I will take up a new appointment as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh.

During my one year's notice period, it will be very important that there is no loss of momentum at HKU: the Senior Management Team is unanimously and heavily engaged in a process of reform towards achieving our Vision of Innovation, Interdisciplinarity and Internationalisation converging on Impact, and being Asia's Global University. I will remain dedicated to the task and working hard with all of you to achieve our goals. The departure of one person must not be allowed to derail the progress being made at this great and venerable University.

It has been a distinct privilege to lead HKU for almost three years and I am sorry and somewhat surprised to be leaving before the completion of my term. The HKU students, staff, alumni and friends are wonderful and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you all: I regret that it was not for longer. There are very few universities in the world that could have tempted me to leave HKU but Edinburgh is one of them. I have many personal reasons for returning to the UK and I have decided after extensive discussions with my family to take this opportunity now.

I will leave HKU with a sense of great progress having been made during my time here. We have articulated a strategic vision for the next ten years of the University and put in place many of the reforms and modernisations that will be required to deliver that vision.

We have already greatly improved our international visibility, including new strategic partnerships with top universities in the US, UK and Australia and our pioneering dual degree agreements with the likes of University College London, Sciences Po and University of Southern California.

We have put together a superb Senior Management Team (SMT), reformed the reporting structures for senior academic staff including establishing a clear mandate from the SMT for the Faculty Deans, reformed academic career structures, staff review and development procedures and streamlined and made more transparent and objective our hiring, promotion and tenure decisions.

Ambitious proposals are well-advanced to reform the budgeting of the University and ensure that our resources can be optimally deployed. We have established a recovery plan for Centennial College. We have radically improved the governance situation regarding the HKU-Shenzhen Hospital, including addressing the financial risks associated with the project and negotiating a detailed repayment schedule.

We have taken bold moves to address the University’s chronic shortage of accommodation for staff and students including purchasing and renting new sites; resolving a very longstanding issue around the lease for High West which will allow us to develop the site; collaborating with St John’s College on an exciting development plan; subdividing unduly large apartments and taking back from the private market numerous units for staff usage.

We have responded to the patchy results in Research Assessment Exercise 2014 by focusing attention on areas of concern, made strategic new hires, rewarded excellence and planned proactively for the next research assessment.

I have personally led efforts to improve gender equity at HKU and we have made considerable progress: eg shifting the proportion of women at Dean level or above from 9% when I arrived to over 20% and rising now; hosting or co-hosting numerous events with like-minded organisations and generally making equal opportunities part of the daily dialogue at HKU; we have improved maternity leave and provision of breast-feeding facilities; mandated female representation on all search committees, appointments panels and shortlists and made definite plans for a nursery on campus.

Perhaps most satisfyingly of all, repeatedly during the last three years we have articulated, promoted and defended the University’s core principles during a period of unprecedented political complexity in Hong Kong, ensuring that our students and staff can continue to flourish in an environment that respects their freedom of speech: long may this continue.

When I arrived it was clear that HKU already had many excellent staff and a superbly talented student body. We have continued to attract the brightest and best students and we have hired some wonderful new staff during my time here: they will help to take forward the bold plans that we have set out. As outlined above, my departure must not derail the progress or slow the momentum: I hope you will all give full support to my successor.

I am very optimistic about HKU’s future: it is a wonderful institution in a region of the world that is replete with further development potential. I hope to maintain a collaborative relationship with HKU in the future and to keep in close contact with you all. Tina and I will leave here with many friends and many happy memories. Thank you for giving us the honour of being part of the history of this distinguished University.

With very best wishes for the future,

Peter Mathieson

President and Vice-Chancellor

繼2月2日當天，愛丁堡大學官網也發布了馬斐森將出任下任愛丁堡大學校長職務的通告。

愛丁堡大學通告提到，馬斐森稱自己很享受在香港大學任職的時光，并對接下來將帶領愛丁堡大學步入新的篇章充滿期待。

此外，英國愛丁堡大學校長Sir Timothy O'shea在擔任愛丁堡大學校長一職長達15年之后，自己決定于2017年9月離職。

以下是馬斐森出任愛丁堡大學校長的入職信：

一封辭職信，一封入職信，此起彼伏，可見國際教育行業也是風云四起。當然，這兩所大學都有非常悠久的歷史，想留學的同學們不用擔心！

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