As a network of leading universities linking the Americas, Asia, and Australasia, APRU (the Association of Pacific Rim Universities) brings together thought leaders, researchers, and policy-makers to exchange ideas and collaborate on practical solutions to the challenges of the 21st century.
We leverage our members’ collective education and research capabilities into the international public policy process. In the post-pandemic era, our strategic priorities focus on:
1. providing a neutral platform for high-level policy dialogue,
2. taking action on climate change, and
3. supporting diversity, inclusion, and minorities.
APRU’s primary activities support these strategic priorities, focusing on critical areas such as disaster risk reduction, women in leadership, indigenous knowledge, virtual student exchange, e-sports, population aging, global health, sustainable cities, artificial intelligence, waste management, and more.
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As UCLA’s chief executive officer, Gene D. Block oversees all aspects of the campus’ three-part mission of education, research and service.
A champion of public universities, Chancellor Block serves on several leading national associations and advisory boards, including as chair of the council of presidents of the Universities Research Association, an international consortium of 86 leading research universities.
He has called for UCLA to deepen its engagement with Los Angeles, a city that offers a microcosm of the global community, and to increase access for students from underrepresented populations. An advocate of interdisciplinary scholarship, he emphasizes broad-based, campus-wide planning.
Chancellor Block holds UCLA faculty appointments in psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine and in physiological science in the College of Letters and Science. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he specializes in circadian biology, which deals with the functioning of 24-hour rhythms in higher organisms (See Academic Interests).
Dr. Block became chancellor of UCLA on August 1, 2007. Previously, he served as vice president and provost of the University of Virginia, where he held the Alumni Council Thomas Jefferson Professorship in Biology and directed the National Science Foundation’s Science and Technology Center for Biological Timing. He also headed an NIH graduate training program aimed at increasing the number of scientists from underrepresented groups.
Chancellor Block joined the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1978. He served as vice provost for research from 1993 to 1998 and then as vice president for research and public service until his appointment as vice president and provost in 2001. In 1998, he received the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Outstanding Public Service Award for his work with Virginia’s business community.
A native of Monticello, New York, Chancellor Block holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stanford University and a master’s and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Oregon. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford, studying with Colin Pittendrigh, “the father of biological timing,” and Donald Kennedy, who later served as president of Stanford.
The inventor of a number of devices, Chancellor Block holds a patent for a non-contact respiratory monitor for the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and he is an avid collector of vacuum-tube radios.
Chancellor Block and his wife, Carol, have two children.
Professor Rocky S. Tuan assumed office as the eighth Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong on 1 January 2018. He is concurrently Lee Quo Wei and Lee Yick Hoi Lun Professor of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine at the University. Prior to joining CUHK in 2016 as a distinguished visiting professor and the founding director of the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, he held several appointments at the University of Pittsburgh, including distinguished professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Engineering in the School of Medicine. He is also founding director of the Center for Military Medicine Research and Associate Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Professor Tuan is an internationally renowned biomedical scientist specializing in musculoskeletal biology and tissue regeneration, whose work covers both basic science and engineering, as well as translational and clinical applications. His significant contributions have been recognized by the Hap Paul Award of the International Society of Technologies in Arthroplasty in 1997, the Marshall Urist Award for Excellence in Tissue Regeneration Research of the Orthopaedic Research Society in 2004, the Carnegie Science Award in Life Sciences, and the Clemson Award of the Society for Biomaterials in 2016. In 2017, Professor Tuan was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for his accomplishments in innovation and translational research that bring significant impact on society.
Professor Tan Eng Chye is a passionate and award-winning educator. He was a pioneer architect of the current academic system in NUS, and has seeded many initiatives such as the Special Programme in Science, University Scholars Programme, University Town Residential College Programme, Grade-free Year, and Technology-enhanced Education.
Professor Tan holds a First Class Honours Degree in Mathematics from the National University of Singapore and PhD from Yale University.
Professor Tan is a member of the Singapore’s Future Economy Council. He is on the boards of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR); National Research Foundation; and NUS High School of Mathematics and Sciences. He is the Chair of Universitas 21, a leading global network of 27 research-intensive universities.
Professor Tan received the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2014 for his outstanding contributions to education. He was awarded the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal, which honours exceptional alumni in the areas of scholarship, teaching, academic administration and public service, by Yale University in 2018. Professor Tan was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Southampton in 2018 in recognition of his achievements as “an innovative and exceptional teacher, and then as a distinguished and respected leader in academia”.
David Garza received a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Colorado State University.
He has a trajectory of more than 30 years with Tecnológico de Monterrey where he has served in different academic and leadership positions such as Director of Graduate Programs, Dean of Division, Dean of the School of Engineering (Monterrey campus), Director of Campus (San Luis Potosí campus), Regional Rector –responsible of the academic operations of Monterrey Campus (main campus)-, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education -he led key academic initiatives related to improving the quality of students, faculty and the development of Tec21 Educational Model- and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. He is Rector of Tecnológico de Monterrey since July 1st, 2017, a private nonprofit comprehensive university with 26 campuses in México and nearly 90,000 students (55,500 undergraduate, 8,000 graduate and 26,000 senior high school). It is international recognized for its strong reputation among employers and its entrepreneurial orientation, and it is consistently ranked among the Top universities in Latin America.
Dr. Garza has been a professor/researcher at the Informatics Research Center collaborating with academic departments, and teaching courses in the Electronic and Information Technologies related majors. He has participated as professor in the Masters and Ph.D. programs. As a researcher, he has participated in the definition and development of projects financed by highly prestigious institutions both national and international, such as: United States Agency for International Development, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Advanced Research Projects Agency, European Commission and CONACYT. Some of his research projects have been in collaboration with international institutions such as: Virginia Tech, Southwest Research Institute and Colorado State University. As a faculty member he has been author of multiple journal/conference and book articles, and worked as consultant in different industry projects. He has been recipient, twice, of the Distinguished Faculty Award.
David Garza has been Chair of the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC), an initiative created with the support of ASEE and International Federation of Engineering Education Societies. He received an Honoris Causa Doctorate from Universidad Americana Nicaragua in 2012. He is a member of professional societies and organizations such as: ASEE, IEEE, ACM, Sigma Xi, and Phi Kappa Phi. He has served in different conference committees, and state, national and international councils from different industry and academic organizations and has been invited speaker/panelist in international events in more than 15 different countries. He is married with Claudia García Valadez and has four children: Claudia Marcela, Alejandro Daniel, Andrés Fernando and Sara Elisa.
A globally recognised leader in world-class universities for more than a decade, Dawn Freshwater became the University's first female Vice-Chancellor in March 2020, after serving as the University of Western Australia's Vice-Chancellor and Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Registrar for six years (2014-2020).
Since taking up the role of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Auckland, Professor Freshwater has led the development of the University’s ambitious Vision 2030 and Strategic Plan 2025, Taumata Teitei, which has an emphasis on sustainable eco-systems, just and cultured societies, health and well-being and trusted technology.
Professor Freshwater was the first female Chair of the G08 Research Intensive Universities in Australia, and Deputy Chair (2018-2020) having previously been a Director. She is Chair of Universities New Zealand Research Committee, Chair of the Partnership Board of the World University Network (WUN), Deputy Chair and Board Director of Research Australia, and the APRU Steering Committee. She is also a member of Chief Executive Women (CEW) and Global Women New Zealand.
Professor Freshwater was awarded her PhD at the University of Nottingham (1998) contributing to the fields of Public Health (specifically Mental Health and Forensic Mental Health) and in researching Leadership practices which have won her the highest honour in her field - the Fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing (FRCN). She was recently elected as Member Academia Europea (MAE) and as Fellow Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (FRCSI).
A strong advocate of industry engagement and of the role of higher education in supporting trade agreements, Professor Freshwater maintains strong professional ties with key figures in education and industry in Asia, Europe and the United States.
Professor Xiang Zhang is currently the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
Prior to joining HKU in July 2018, he was the inaugural Ernest S. Kuh Endowed Chair Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Director of the Nano-scale Science and Engineering Center (SINAM). He has also served as the Director of Materials Science Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).
Professor Zhang is an elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and of Academia Sinica, a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), the Optical Society of America (OSA), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE).
Professor Zhang received his PhD from UC Berkeley (1996), MS from the University of Minnesota and MS/BS from Nanjing University, China. He was an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University (1996-1999), and associate professor and full professor at UCLA (1999-2004) prior to joining Berkeley’s faculty in 2004.
Professor Zhang’s current research focuses on materials physics, metamaterials and nano-photonics. He has published over 340 journal papers including 70 publications in Science and Nature family series. He has given over 330 Keynote, Plenary and Invited talks at international conferences and institutions. He was a Co-Chair of the NSF Nano-scale Science and Engineering Annual Grantee Conferences in 2004 and 2005, and has served as Chair of the Academic Advisory Board for the Research Center for Applied Science (RCAS), Academia Sinica.
In 2008, Professor Zhang’s research was selected by Time Magazine as one of the “Top Ten Scientific Discoveries of the Year” and “50 Best Inventions of the Year”,Discover Magazine‘s “Top 100 Science Stories” in 2007, and R&D Magazine‘s top 25 Most Innovative Products of 2006. His research has been frequently featured in international media, including the BBC, CNN, ABC, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal. More recently, his research team’s work on “Casimir effect” at UC Berkeley was selected as one of the Top 10 Breakthroughs for 2019 by Physics World.
Professor Zhang is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award (1997), the SME Dell K. Allen Outstanding Young Engineer Award (1998) and the ONR Young Investigator Award (1999). He was awarded the Chancellor’s Professorship by UC Berkeley (2004-2009), named Rohsenow Lecturer at MIT (2009) and William Reynolds Lecturer at Stanford (2012), and in 2017, chosen for the Pearsall Distinguished Lecture at Duke, the Hall Engineering Lecture at Vanderbilt, and the Towers Distinguished Lecture at Michigan Tech. In 2011, he was awarded the Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship by the Materials Research Society (MRS), the Miller Professorship by UC Berkeley, and named Distinguished Visiting Scientist (DVS) by the University of Toronto. He was awarded the Fitzroy Medal in 2014, the Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award in 2015, the Max Born Award from the Optical Society of America in 2016, the Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics in 2016, the Excellence Award in Scientific Leadership in 2016, and the A. C. Eringen Medal from the Society of Engineering Science in 2017.
Professor Deborah Terry AO is Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Queensland (UQ). Prior to commencing this role in August 2020, she served as Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University, in Western Australia (from February 2014 to July 2020).
Professor Terry was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) in June 2015, in recognition of her distinguished service to education in the tertiary sector.
She is a former Chair of the Board of Universities Australia; a Fellow and past President of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia; an appointed member of the Australian Research Council Advisory Council; and serves on the Australia and New Zealand School of Government Board and Australia’s Academic and Research Network Board (AARNET).
Having grown up in Perth and Canberra, Professor Terry completed her PhD in Social Psychology at the Australian National University in Canberra. From there, she commenced her distinguished career at UQ in 1990, initially as an internationally recognised scholar in psychology. During her 24 years at UQ, Professor Terry progressed through a number of senior leadership roles to become Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, before leaving for her role as Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University in early 2014.
Professor Dato’ Ir. Dr. Mohd. Hamdi Abd. Shukor holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) degree from the Imperial College, London; a Master of Science degree in Advanced Manufacturing and Management Technology from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology; and a Doctor of Engineering degree from Kyoto University.
His academic career commenced in 1995 in Universiti Malaya (UM) as a tutor and he later became a lecturer in the Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture. Throughout the years he has been Head of Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture; Dean of Faculty of Engineering and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International). His service and expertise are also recognised internationally. He was a Visiting Professor at UCLA in 2015-2016.
His astounding academic excellence as well as his remarkable leadership quality have made him a natural fit to helm Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia as its Vice-Chancellor in 2019 and in November 2020, he assumes the role of leading Universiti Malaya as the 13th Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Hamdi founded and has served as the Head of the Centre of Advanced Manufacturing and Material Processing (AMMP) and Centre for Research in Industry 4.0 (CRI4.0) in UM. In addition to producing more than 160 impactful publications in journals indexed by the Web of Science, he also has recorded a h-index of 33 with total citation of over 3850.
Professor Hamdi’s achievements, especially in the commercialisation of research activities, were truly proven when he was awarded the Universiti Malaya Excellence Award in 2012 and 2013. In recognition of his outstanding service and contribution, Professor Hamdi was conferred Dato’ Paduka Negeri Sembilan (D.P.N.S.) in 2020.
As the twelfth president of USC, President Carol Folt has defined an arc of purpose for the University of Southern California that has set a visionary course for innovation, creativity, and sustainability across the institution. An accomplished academic leader and life scientist who always puts students first, President Folt has elevated diversity, equity and inclusion, access, and affordability – creating spaces for all students to feel that they belong.
Before coming to USC, President Folt previously served as chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill, held several leadership appointments at Dartmouth, and has held several faculty appointments in marine and environmental biology, civil and environmental engineering, and preventive medicine.
As a scientist, President Folt’s pioneering research on the effects of dietary mercury and arsenic on human and ecosystem health led to numerous national and global policy changes and consumption advisories.
President Folt earned her bachelor’s degree in aquatic biology and a master’s degree in biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her doctorate in ecology from the University of California, Davis.
Aiji Tanaka is President of Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. He graduated from Waseda University in 1975 with B.A. in Political Science. Following his graduation, he pursued graduate work in the United States, and obtained a Ph.D. in political science from Ohio State University in 1985. Then, he started his teaching and research career in Japan, and returned to Waseda in 1998. He has served as Dean of Academic Affairs (2006-2010) and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (2010-2014) at Waseda. He has also served for international academic community, such as President of International Political Science Association (IPSA) (2014-2016).
Prof. Schneider was elected as APRU’s 5th Chief Executive and took up the role from Janurary 2023. A native of Germany, Prof. Schneider studied at the University of Zurich, the University of Basel and the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. He earned his degrees (Lizentiat 1990; Dr. phil. 1996; Habilitation 1999), all in Egyptology, from the University of Basel. Throughout his career, he has held academic and administrative positions in four global regions – North America; Asia; Europe; the Middle East. He was a Lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Zurich (2000-3), a Junior Research Professor of the Swiss National Science Foundation at the University of Basel (2001-5), Professor and inaugural holder of the Chair in Egyptology at Swansea University, Wales (2005-7), before joining the University of British Columbia. He held Visiting Professorships at the University of Vienna (1999), the University of Heidelberg (2003-4) and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2018). He was a Visiting Scholar at New York University (2006), the University of California, Berkeley (2012), the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing (2016) and Shanghai University (2018, International Masters Program). And from 2018-20, Prof. Schneider served the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China’s fastest-rising new STEM university, as Associate Vice President (International), spearheading its internationalization efforts. Recently, Prof. Schneider has founded PALAC – a new consortium of liberal arts colleges focused on experimental learning in the liberal arts across multiple economies in Asia and North America.
In addition to his Executive Directorship of the PALAC consortium and the Associate Vice President position at SUSTech (in which functions he has engaged with a large number of APRU member institutions), Prof. Schneider has acquired significant leadership experience at the departmental level (Acting Department Chair; Director of Graduate Studies; Chair of Egyptology) and university level (Senator on the UBC Senate, 2014-8). He oversaw specific strategic projects and initiatives as Special Advisor to the Vice-Provost and Dean, Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, at UBC (2015-7) and as Advisor to the President at Quest University Canada (2016-17).
Prof. Schneider has acquired a broad knowledge of the spectrum of disciplines represented by APRU member institutions, as a humanities scholar who has also worked for a STEM research university. He has been a consultant, adjudicator and reviewer for universities, funding agencies and publishers in North America, China, Europe, Israel, and Australia, as well as an executive editor of academic periodicals. His own scholarship (160 publications, among which 7 authored books and 7 edited books) focuses on cultural and linguistic interconnections in the Near East, the environmental history of Egypt, and the history of the humanities in Nazi Germany.
Email: [email protected]
Sherman Cheng joins APRU with a background of over 20 years in commercial experience spanning across US and Hong Kong in roles ranging from financial consultant to senior financial controller. A graduate from UC Berkeley in Economics, Sherman also holds a Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara University and a Juris Doctor from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. As a qualified accountant, Sherman takes charge of APRU’s business processes, financial control, HR and work flow management.
Email: [email protected]
Prof. Schneider was elected as APRU’s 5th Chief Executive and took up the role from Janurary 2023. A native of Germany, Prof. Schneider studied at the University of Zurich, the University of Basel and the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. He earned his degrees (Lizentiat 1990; Dr. phil. 1996; Habilitation 1999), all in Egyptology, from the University of Basel. Throughout his career, he has held academic and administrative positions in four global regions – North America; Asia; Europe; the Middle East. He was a Lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Zurich (2000-3), a Junior Research Professor of the Swiss National Science Foundation at the University of Basel (2001-5), Professor and inaugural holder of the Chair in Egyptology at Swansea University, Wales (2005-7), before joining the University of British Columbia. He held Visiting Professorships at the University of Vienna (1999), the University of Heidelberg (2003-4) and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2018). He was a Visiting Scholar at New York University (2006), the University of California, Berkeley (2012), the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing (2016) and Shanghai University (2018, International Masters Program). And from 2018-20, Prof. Schneider served the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China’s fastest-rising new STEM university, as Associate Vice President (International), spearheading its internationalization efforts. Recently, Prof. Schneider has founded PALAC – a new consortium of liberal arts colleges focused on experimental learning in the liberal arts across multiple economies in Asia and North America.
In addition to his Executive Directorship of the PALAC consortium and the Associate Vice President position at SUSTech (in which functions he has engaged with a large number of APRU member institutions), Prof. Schneider has acquired significant leadership experience at the departmental level (Acting Department Chair; Director of Graduate Studies; Chair of Egyptology) and university level (Senator on the UBC Senate, 2014-8). He oversaw specific strategic projects and initiatives as Special Advisor to the Vice-Provost and Dean, Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, at UBC (2015-7) and as Advisor to the President at Quest University Canada (2016-17).
Prof. Schneider has acquired a broad knowledge of the spectrum of disciplines represented by APRU member institutions, as a humanities scholar who has also worked for a STEM research university. He has been a consultant, adjudicator and reviewer for universities, funding agencies and publishers in North America, China, Europe, Israel, and Australia, as well as an executive editor of academic periodicals. His own scholarship (160 publications, among which 7 authored books and 7 edited books) focuses on cultural and linguistic interconnections in the Near East, the environmental history of Egypt, and the history of the humanities in Nazi Germany.
Email: [email protected]
Christina Schönleber, Chief Strategy Officer at the Association of Pacific Rim Universities has extensive expertise in translating research to impact. She holds responsibilities for developing and growing APRU’s strategic policy impact to address pressing regional challenges through the association’s key program areas working closely with leading scientists and policy makers in the Asia Pacific.
Christina joined APRU from the innovation and enterprise leadership of the Royal College of Art and the University of Kent. As Head of Knowledge Exchange at the RCA in London, she set up and implementing the college’s strategic capabilities in applying latest knowledge and expertise to solve societal, environmental an economic issues. She led the development and submission of the RCA’s first major Innovate UK application gaining funding for multi stakeholder/ multi year collaboration on driverless vehicles and set up new strategic partnerships with major international corporations such as Huawei and Tata Consultancy Services.
At the University of Kent, Christina led the university’s strategic enterprise development in key areas of science and social science. In this role, she set up the university’s first student start up and enterprise schemes, forged new cross disciplinary research collaborations with key partners in the security and information sectors and developed lasting strategic partnerships with government and industry. Following this she worked as a business development consultant in Hong Kong, developing Sino-German business links.
Email: [email protected]
Eric is the Executive Manager of APRU. Eric joins APRU with extensive experience of over 15 years as an executive assistant to CEOs and chairs of international companies in both Canada and Hong Kong. He has also served on the management team of a logistics company, assisting in overseeing the overall business as well as its overseas network for a number of years. Brought up in Canada, he holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of British Columbia, Canada.
Email: [email protected]
Sherman Cheng joins APRU with a background of over 20 years in commercial experience spanning across US and Hong Kong in roles ranging from financial consultant to senior financial controller. A graduate from UC Berkeley in Economics, Sherman also holds a Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara University and a Juris Doctor from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. As a qualified accountant, Sherman takes charge of APRU’s business processes, financial control, HR and work flow management.
Email: [email protected]
Tina Lin has been active in marine conservation both academically and in volunteer organizations. This prepares her well for APRU’s research and policy programs especially on the Pacific Ocean and sustainability. Her last post was as a project coordinator with the Fisheries Agency of the Council of Agriculture in Taiwan. Before that, she was assistant program coordinator at the Global Health Center at National Taiwan University. In this capacity, she worked with the APRU Global Health Program. She has a Master of Arts in Marine Affairs from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, and a bachelor’s in Chinese literature from National Sun Yat-Sen University in Kaohsiung.
Email: [email protected]
Contact the International Secretariat of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities.
Address: APRU International University Centre, Unit 902, Cyberport 2, 100 Cyberport Road, Hong Kong
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +852 2117 7060
Fax: +852 2117 7080