CityU confers Honorary Fellowships on three distinguished persons
Three distinguished persons were conferred the title of Honorary Fellow of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) in recognition of their distinctive contributions to the development of, or service to, the University and the community.
The recipients are:
§ Dr The Hon Chiang Lai-wan, Chairman of C & L Holdings Ltd
§ Mr Kenneth Koo, Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TCC Group
§ Mr Lau Ming-wai, Vice-Chairman of Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd
(For the biographies of the Honorary Fellows, please refer to the attached pages.)
Dr Norman Leung Nai-pang, Pro-Chancellor, Mr Herman Hu Shao-ming, Council Chairman, and Professor Way Kuo, University President, officiated at the ceremony, which was held today (16 October).
In his welcoming address, Mr Hu thanked the Honorary Fellows on behalf of the University for their unstinting support and wise counsel.
“We have been very fortunate to have the friendship and support of our Honorary Fellows, and the entire campus has benefitted from their significant contributions,” he said. “With the support of these distinguished individuals and the concerted effort of the faculty, staff, students, alumni and associates, the University has made great progress and achievements and has significantly contributed to higher education sector. Our academic strengths have been reflected in the world rankings, which continue to improve.”
He also said he was pleased to see CityU’s smooth transition to the new and highly unique Discovery-enriched Curriculum, which will give young people on campus an exciting opportunity to create and communicate new knowledge to the rest of the world.
Dr Chiang addressed the assembly on behalf of the Honorary Fellows. “We have seen the campus expand to make more space for teaching and learning through the creation of new buildings. We have seen generations of students graduate from high-impact programmes taught by world-class international and local faculty. And what is even more exciting is that, like many of you here today, I sense that this is only the beginning of a bright future for CityU,” she said.
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Biographies of the 2012 Honorary Fellow award recipients
Dr The Hon Chiang Lai-wan, JP, Chairman of C & L Holdings Ltd, is well-known for her dedication and success in the business and social community. She established Li Dong Industrial & Trading Investment Co Ltd and C & L Holdings Ltd in the early 1990s. She is active in public service, taking up more than 50 public appointments in the political, industrial, commercial and educational arenas as well as taking up women’s issues. She has been appointed as a member of a number of committees, such as the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and served on the CityU Council and the Court. Her professionalism and dedication to the community has earned her many awards, including one of the inaugural Young Industrialist Awards of Hong Kong in 1988, an Honorary Fellowship from the Professional Validation Council of Hong Kong Industries in 2002, and a number of outstanding awards for women, including one conferred by the Hong Kong Women Development Association earlier this year. Recently, she was elected a member of the Legislative Council of HKSAR.
Mr Kenneth Koo, the Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TCC Group, is well-known as a shipping magnate. The third generation of a 90-year-old family enterprise, he joined Tai Chong Cheang Steamship Co. (H.K.) Ltd in 1983. He took command of the business in 2005. Mr Koo was Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association and Port Welfare Committee of the HKSAR Government’s Marine Department. He has been an Honorable President of the Institute of Seatransport since 2000 and a trustee of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum Trust since 2005. In 2010, he presented CityU’s School of Law with a donation on behalf of the K H Koo Charitable Foundation in support of the maritime and transportation law courses. His support for CityU is also reflected in his membership of the Advisory Committees of the University’s Hong Kong Centre for Maritime and Transportation Law and the Centre for Transport, Trade and Financial Studies.
Mr Lau Ming-wai, JP, Vice-Chairman of Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd, is a prominent member of the China and Hong Kong business worlds. He is a registered attorney in the State of New York and a Chartered Financial Analyst Charter holder. Mr Lau is also very active in public service. Among his other public roles, he is a member of the Sichuan Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Steering Committee of the Community Care Fund, and the Health and Medical Development Advisory Committee. Mr Lau and his family are highly supportive of CityU’s development, too. In 2011, CityU received a donation from The Joseph Lau Luen-hung Charitable Trust, represented by Mr Lau Ming-wai, to set up student awards and bursaries for underprivileged students, and to sponsor strategic initiatives and other innovative projects. He was appointed Justice of the Peace by the HKSAR Government in 2010.