LU confers seven Honorary Doctorates and Honorary Fellowships

17 Jun 2020

Honorary Doctorates and Honorary Fellowships

Photo 1. Lingnan University Honorary Doctorates Prof Lawrence Juen-yee Lau (left 1), Ms Sophia Kao Ching-chi (left 2), and Dr Simon Ip Sik-on (left 3) in a group photo with Honorary Fellows Mr Leong Cheung (right 3), Mr Lee Ming-kwai (right 2), and Ms Jessie Yu Sau-chu (right 1).

Lingnan University (LU) conferred seven Honorary Doctorates and Honorary Fellowships 2019/20 at its Honorary Doctorate and Honorary Fellowship Conferment Ceremony today (17 June), in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their professions and their valuable contributions to society.

 

The Honorary Doctorate recipients are Dr Simon Ip Sik-on, Ms Sophia Kao Ching-chi, and Prof Lawrence Juen-yee Lau. (Address by Prof Lawrence Juen-yee Lau)

 

The Honorary Fellowship recipients are Mr Leong Cheung, Mr Lee Ming-kwai, Mrs Loretta Shuen Leung Lai-sheung (in absentia), and Ms Jessie Yu Sau-chu. (Address by Mr Lee Ming-kwai)

 

Biographies of the Honorary Doctorate recipients:

 

Dr Simon Ip Sik-on, GBS, JP

Highly respected lawyer Dr Simon Ip Sik-on was the Chairman and Senior Partner of Johnson Stokes & Master. His many valuable contributions are particularly in the areas of legal practice, education and community welfare. He also served as President of the Law Society, member of the Basic Law Consultative Committee and the Legislative Council, as well as Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

 

Dr Ip was the Founding Council Chairman of The Hong Kong Institute of Education (now The Education University of Hong Kong) and a Founding Council member of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. As a keen equestrian and horse-racing enthusiast, from 1999 to 2018 Dr Ip brought a professional and results-oriented approach to the Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards and Board of Trustees.

 

Dr Ip has earned wide acclaim for his contributions to the community. He was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star and appointed a Justice of the Peace by the HKSAR Government, and has received honorary doctoral degrees from The Hong Kong Institute of Education, City University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

 

 

Ms Sophia Kao Ching-chi, GBS, JP

Ms Sophia Kao Ching-chi is an expert in the field of human resources. Her many years of corporate experience have given her invaluable insights into the workforce, but her deepest interests have always been in voluntary work in the public and community sectors. She is committed to social services in areas such as public policy, university governance and philanthropy, and also focuses on promoting women’s rights and status in Hong Kong as well as being Chairperson of the Women’s Commission. She was a member of the Central Policy Unit, Founding Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University.

 

The contributions made by Ms Kao are recognised in both the public and private sectors and she has received Honorary Fellowships from Lingnan University, The Open University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and an Honorary Doctorate from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She was also awarded a Gold and a Silver Bauhinia Star by the HKSAR Government, and appointed a Justice of the Peace.

 

 

Prof Lawrence Juen-yee Lau, GBS, JP

World-renowned economist Prof Lawrence Juen-yee Lau is the former Vice-Chancellor and the Ralph and Claire Landau Professor of Economics of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Kwoh-Ting Li Professor in Economic Development, Emeritus, at Stanford University.

 

A specialist in the subfields of economic theory, development and growth, and the economies of East Asia, Prof Lau has published numerous scholarly monographs and over 200 articles and book chapters. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, he advised the Chinese government on its currency policy.

 

Prof Lau’s record of professional service is truly impressive and he has advised such international organisations as the Asian Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Bank, and edited or served on the editorial boards of prestigious journals including the Journal of Econometrics, The Review of Economic Studies, Economics Letters and the Asian Development Review.

 

Prof Lau has received a Gold Bauhinia Star, and been appointed a Justice of the Peace by the HKSAR Government.

 

 

Biographies of the Honorary Fellowship recipients:

 

Mr Leong Cheung

Mr Leong Cheung is a businessman who believes in giving back through philanthropy. He is currently the Executive Director of Charities and Community of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, primarily responsible for managing its Charities Trust, implementing new strategies, and adopting a more proactive role in addressing Hong Kong’s social needs.

 

Enthusiastically innovative and building on his passion for running, Mr Cheung has co-founded and remains the chairman of RunOurCity, which uses running to transform lives, particularly young lives. So far the platform has helped to build up the physical and mental strength of over 11,000 young people.

 

Mr Cheung is also committed to higher education: he has served as a part-time lecturer and Adjunct Professor, and is a member of the Lingnan University Council and Court. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School and a member of the Elderly Commission and the Community Care Fund of Hong Kong.

 

Mr Lee Ming-kwai, GBS

Former Commissioner of Police Mr Lee Ming-kwai has been the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Institute for Public Administration since he retired. He also lectures on topics ranging from Chinese and international history and public administration to cultural conservation.

 

Having graduated with a Major in History and determined to learn from the past, Mr Lee enrolled in the Hong Kong Police Force during the anti-corruption campaign and helped to uproot corruption and rewrote the history of the Force.

 

It was Mr Lee who planned the security for the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong in 2005, when demonstrations staged by Korean farmers were subdued with minimal force in an operation which has become a model of police restraint in dealing with protests.

 

Mr Lee’s long-term dedication to creating a safe and orderly living environment for Hong Kongers has made him a role model for the city’s civic leaders, and the HKSAR Government has awarded him a Gold Bauhinia Star.

 

 

Mrs Loretta Shuen Leung Lai-sheung

Accounting specialist Mrs Loretta Shuen Leung Lai-sheung worked for the Inland Revenue Department and an investment bank before becoming a partner of Ernst & Young where she was South China Leader of Tax Services, Greater China Leader of Business Tax Compliance Services, and President of the Greater China Division of CPA Australia.

 

Now retired, Mrs Shuen sits on the Council of The Pathways Foundation, a non-profit charitable organisation that helps children with dyslexia. She has been a Council member of Lingnan University since 2010, and was Treasurer from 2012 to 2018.

 

Mrs Shuen is also on both the Accounting Advisory Board and the Risk and Insurance Management Advisory Board, where she has played a major part in supporting one of Lingnan’s flagship initiatives, the BBA (Hons) Risk and Insurance Management Programme. She advises Lingnan on its undergraduate and postgraduate curricula.

 

 

Ms Jessie Yu Sau-chu, BBS, MH, JP

Social worker Ms Jessie Yu Sau-chu is the founder and Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Single Parents Association whose motto is “Strengthen ourselves, help ourselves, then help others”.

 

A victim of domestic violence and a broken marriage herself, Ms Yu, as a single mother raising two daughters alone, plucked up the courage to complete her secondary-school education, and get a diploma in social work, a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master’s degree in social work.

 

Ms Yu is passionate about community service and has turned what she has learned, lived and seen into careful consideration for single parents, a community often overlooked in Hong Kong, encouraging them to know themselves better and helping them to solve their problems.

 

She has served as a member of the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Social Welfare Advisory Committee, the Commission on Poverty and the Sha Tin District Council. Ms Yu was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star and the Medal of Honour, and appointed as a Justice of the Peace by the HKSAR Government in recognition of her contribution to the community.