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The University of Hong Kong (HKU) held its Twelfth Inauguration of Endowed Professorships on March 20 to celebrate nine new Endowed Professorships – including a gift to honour its former Council Chairman Dr the Honourable Leung Che-Hung, as well as a loving bequest from none other than its own Vice-Chancellor, the late Professor Ian Davies.

Each gift comes with a story, and a dream.

The 13^th Vice-Chancellor (2000 to 2002) Professor Ian Davies left a bequest to establish a Professorship in Ethics. “Ian was adamant regarding his wishes on the establishment of an endowed professorship in relation to ethics, which he himself demonstrated to a very high level,” said executors Ms Maggie Crosswaite and Dr Gordon Chiu. Professor Simon S K Lam of the Faculty of Business and Economics, the first incumbent of the Endowed Professorship, remarked that the funds would be used to further research into ethics as well as building an exchange platform to promote good practices in ethics.

The Leong Che-Hung Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Leadership was established with gifts from over 120 donors from various professions who wished to pay tribute to eminent HKU’s alumnus, former professoriate colleague and past Council Chairman, Dr C H Leung. “University education is more than adding knowledge or engaging in vocational training. It encompasses the preparation of young people to meet the myriad of challenges in society, and to take up leadership roles. This Distinguished Visiting Professorship will inspire students to excel in both,” said Dr Leung.

Dr the Honourable Henry Cheng Kar-Shun established the Professorship in International Law to benefit the development of the Faculty and its position at the forefront of international law research. The Cheng Family is a long-term supporter of The University of Hong Kong, having previously donated towards HKU’s Centennial Campus and the new Law Faculty building, which was named after Cheng Yu-Tung.

Other gifts include:
- Sein and Isaac Souede Professorship in Economic History
- Patrick S C Poon Professorship in Analytics and Innovation
- Norman and Cecilia Yip Professorship in Bioinorganic Chemistry
- Ko Wong Wai Ching Wendy Professorship in Fluid Dynamics
- James Chen and Yuen-Han Chan Professorship in Music
- Antony and Nina Chan Professorship in Paediatric Immunology

Endowed Professorships are created to provide perpetual support to areas of academic excellence. Since 2005, a total of 116 Endowed Professorships have been established (including five Distinguished Visiting Professorships).

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Polo Leung, Development & Alumni Affairs Office on 3917 1732, email: pololeung@hku.hk. or Ms Rashida Suffiad (Senior Manager (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) Tel: 2857 8555 email: rsuffiad@hku.hk.

For more information and photos, please visit the Endowed Professorships Scheme website at http://www.hku.hk/ephku/