Media

HKU Awards Six Honorary Degrees

14 Mar 2006

 

Dr The Honourable Donald Tsang Yam Kuen, Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong (HKU), conferred honorary degrees upon six outstanding individuals at the 173rd Congregation today (March 14, 2006).

Honorary Degrees are awarded to individuals in recognition of their distinguished service and commitment to the University, the community, and to academia. They are also conferred to those who have made valuable intellectual, social and cultural contributions to society and the world.

The honorary degree recipients are:
Doctor of Laws honoris causa
- The Honourable Dr Vivienne Poy, Senator, The Senate of Canada

Doctor of Letters honoris causa
- Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, KT, GCMG, FRSE

Doctor of Science honoris causa
- Professor William Ian Rees Davies, SBS, JP
- Dr the Honourable Leong Che Hung, GBS, OBE, JP

Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa
- Mr Simon K Y Lee, MBE, JP
- Professor Wu Jing Lian

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Senator Vivienne Poy is a Member of the Senate of Canada, Chancellor of the University of Toronto, Director of the Bank of East Asia (Canada), and Chairwoman of Lee Tak Wai Holdings Limited.

Senator Poy is an author, entrepreneur, fashion designer, historian, and also the first Canadian of Asian descent to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. As a Senator, she continues her family's long history of community involvement, and has spoken out for human rights around the world and promoted respect for others, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or religion. Her writing and academic work have focused on the history of the Chinese in Hong Kong and in Canada.

In recognition of the bridges she has built between Hong Kong and Canada, her contributions to Canadian society, as well as her commitment to championing human rights, multiculturalism and gender equality, HKU will confer on her the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa.

Lord Wilson of Tillyorn is the Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen and the penultimate Governor of Hong Kong.

Lord Wilson entered the Foreign Service of the United Kingdom in 1958, and much of his distinguished career is related to China and Hong Kong. He studied Chinese at the University of Hong Kong from 1960-62 and then served as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Peking from 1963 to 1965. As a Chinese scholar, and having left the Foreign Service for those years, he edited the China Quarterly between 1968 and 1974. Lord Wilson was the Governor of Hong Kong from 1987 to 1992. He was Chairman of Scottish & Southern Energy plc from 1993 to 2000, made a Knight of the Thistle in 2000, and served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Museums of Scotland from 2002 to 2006. Lord Wilson is now Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.

In recognition of his contributions to the community of Hong Kong, HKU will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa.

Professor William Ian Rees Davies is an Emeritus Professor of HKU and was one of the pioneers who established Hong Kong's first and only Faculty of Dentistry at HKU.

From 1983 to 1989, Professor Davies served as Dean of the Faculty and Director of Prince Philip Dental Hospital concurrently. He was the University's Pro-Vice-Chancellor from 1991 to 2000, for the last two years of which he was in addition the Registrar, and served the University as Vice-Chancellor from 2000 to 2002. Under his leadership, HKU responded vigorously to the globalization of tertiary education, accepting more international students, extending the number and scale of collaborative research projects, and strengthening its links with established universities in Mainland China and internationally.

Professor Davies is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the College of Dental Surgeons of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. He was appointed Justice of Peace in 1991 and awarded a Silver Bauhinia Star in 2003.

In recognition of his contributions to academia and to the dental profession in Hong Kong, HKU will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa.

Dr the Honourable Leong Che Hung is a member of the Executive Council, Chairperson of the Council on Human Reproductive Technology, and Chairman of the Elderly Commission of the Government of Hong Kong.

Dr Leong is a private medical practitioner and represented the Medical Functional Constituency as a Legislative Councillor for twelve years, from 1988 to 2000. He was involved in drawing up the blueprint for the Hospital Authority and was its Chairman from 2002 to 2004. Dr Leong played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and was its President from 2000 to 2004. He is an Honorary Professor of Surgery at HKU, a Member of the Council of HKU and an Honorary University Fellow of HKU. Dr Leong was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1993. He was awarded an OBE in 1991 and a Gold Bauhinia Star in 2001.

In recognition of his contributions to the medical profession and to the community of Hong Kong, HKU will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa.

Mr Simon Lee Kwok Yin is Chairman of the Sun Hing Group of Companies, Hong Kong, Director of Wing Hang Bank Ltd, Hong Kong, Director of Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd, Hong Kong, and Chairman of Pacific Canadian Investments Holdings Corp, Vancouver.

Mr Lee has been in the shipping, banking, insurance, warehousing and transportation businesses for sixty years. He has also been active in public service, lending his expertise and generous support to organisations such as the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club International, and numerous charities and Government Departments. Mr Lee helped establish the Simon K Y Lee Hall at HKU in 1985, has been a Member of the Court of HKU since 1986, was a Founding Honorary Patron of the HKU Foundation, and was conferred an Honorary University Fellowship from HKU in 1996. He was appointed Unofficial Justice of the Peace in 1985, and awarded an MBE in 1993.

In recognition of his contributions to the community of Hong Kong, HKU will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.

Professor Wu Jing Lian is a Research Fellow of the Development Research Centre of the State Council, Honorary Director of the Market Economy Research Institute of the Development Research Centre of the State Council, Deputy Director of the Office for the Panel on Economic Reforms Project of the State Council, Professor of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and a Member of the International Consultation Council and the International Society of Management of the East Asia Research Centre of the National University of Singapore.

Professor Wu is one of the most popular economists of contemporary China and has made important contributions to the theoretical foundation for the development of a market economy on the Mainland, especially in the areas of self-financed enterprises, competitive market systems and macroeconomic control. His publications on planned economy and economic reform are read internationally, and he has been honoured by the Board of National Economic Awards.

In recognition of his contributions to the nation, HKU will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.

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For media enquiries, please contact Elsie Leung of HKU's External Relations Office at 2859 2600.