In February 2019, merely months before the COVID-19 outbreak and Sir Fazle Hasan Abed’s passing (the founder of BRAC), Prof Vincent Chang joined Brac University as the Vice Chancellor (VC) becoming its first foreign VC after President Abdul Hamid authorised his appointment for the next four years. Despite the unfortunate turn of events, Prof Chang who had previously served as the inaugural chair for institutional development at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, confidently pursued his journey to enable BRAC to leave a global footprint and to elevate the learning quality of students.
Not only was Prof Chang driven in making significant progress with BRAC institutionally, but also had taken steps which made the lives of students during the pandemic easier. I
n a February 2023 interview taken by the Prothom Alo, he explains that the plans he had for BRAC were already underway before the first report of COVID-19 in Bangladesh. He took a brave and cooperative decision by concluding the ongoing semesters two weeks earlier when the government announced that on-site classes would cease. He introduced the concept of ‘continuous assessment,’ in which students would be evaluated continuously over the course of the semester, concentrating primarily on two things: maintaining high standards for academic achievement and providing for the needs of the students. He further stated in that interview, “If you’ll ask me whether Covid has affected our ways in moving forward, the answer will be, yes. But, if you’ll ask, did we drift away from our goal, the answer will be negative. It might be taking long to implement some of our new initiatives. Still, we did quite a good job in student admission even during the pandemic.”
Prof Chang’s reputation with the students of BRAC University has earned him the unofficial title as ‘The Coolest VC’.
One of the major student-centred steps Prof Vincent Chang had taken was the relaxation of tuition fees for students when everything was online. For many of us, finances had become more strained when the pandemic hit and figuring out how to pay the semester fees was stressful. Prof Vincent Chang introduced an array of tuition waiver options for students including full waivers and making IT services available to everyone extensively to make online classes smoother. While all universities were struggling to adapt to the new normal during the pandemic, for Prof Chang the main concern was the students of BRAC University: how to keep their university experience unhindered, ensure they were not cut off from other opportunities and entail that they receive the best accommodations.
Prof Vincent Chang’s philosophy on education transcends what most educators teach us, perhaps that is what makes him so admirable amongst students.
He believes that there are several components to teaching which go past the technical i.e learning coding or computer languages, reciting poems and analysing texts, etc. He argues that the goal of teaching is to enable freedom of thought, the development of a problem-solving attitude, and the capacity to work well in a team. However, these attributes (more so than often) require the right atmosphere. Prof Vincent Chang was well aware of that and took steps to make wider opportunities available to students like the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme programme and The Open Society University Network (OSUN).
The VC would also hold town hall meetings with university students to hear directly from the students about their issues, and to strengthen his bond with the students firsthand. Shahriar Tahsin Nasif, BRAC Business School (BBS), Spring 17, had the opportunity to meet Prof Vincent Chang twice during his university days. One was in such a meeting. In this experience, Nasif says,
“His humbleness and way of conducting the session impressed the students and he won everyone’s heart as most of the issues raised were either solved or had gotten better.”
Nasif believes that it was his humility, logical way of thinking, and charming personality that made him dear to everyone. “The way he interacts with students makes students feel confident and comfortable while speaking to him. This allows students to be more open about any issues they might be facing. Prof Vincent Chang is very direct in his speech and without doubt, a man of his word,” Nasif extends.
Speaking from my own experiences, his efforts of collaborating and joining Brac University with OSUN succeeded in achieving his beliefs. It was in September 2020 that Brac University joined OSUN as a founding member with both communities sharing the same mission of international, impactful engagement and student experience. We were given the opportunity of attending classes free of cost at other universities like Central European University and Bard College. It was the manifestation of a global classroom with students hailing from various cultures and different parts of the world, different viewpoints connecting and coexisting, and numerous opportunities being presented to students.
Being a part of the OSUN experience was perhaps the highlight of my four years of university. I made amazing friends with whom I still keep in touch and faculties with whom I email back and forth just for check-ins, I learned from experts who introduced me to new lines of thinking and literature which otherwise I would have never known of, and above all, I got into my safety school for higher studies through OSUN. In simple words, Prof Vincent Chang’s efforts and initiatives made a social, educational and personal impact on me.
These sentiments are shared by many other students. While many of us regret not having the opportunity to meet him in person, his messages and initiatives continue to impact us.
As his tenure came to an end in January 2023, I take this space to thank Prof Vincent Chang for all he has done for the students of BRAC University, and for providing me with a support system that I will forever remain grateful for.