Campus Digest

HKBU to confer honorary doctoral degrees on four distinguished persons

22 Sep 2016

HKBU will confer honorary doctoral degrees on (from left): Professor Elizabeth Daley, Professor Martin Hairer, Mr David Mong and Professor Valerie Smith. HKBU will confer honorary doctoral degrees on (from left): Professor Elizabeth Daley, Professor Martin Hairer, Mr David Mong and Professor Valerie Smith.
HKBU will confer honorary doctoral degrees on (from left): Professor Elizabeth Daley, Professor Martin Hairer, Mr David Mong and Professor Valerie Smith.

 

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) will confer honorary doctoral degrees at its Commencement on 14 November on four distinguished persons for their outstanding achievements in their fields and remarkable contributions to society.

Accomplished filmmaker and producer Professor Elizabeth M Daley will receive the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa. Distinguished Mathematics scholar Professor Martin Hairer will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. Outstanding entrepreneur Mr David Mong Tak-yeung will be bestowed the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa. Renowned scholar in African-American literature and President of Swarthmore College, USA, Professor Valerie Smith will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.

Professor Elizabeth M Daley (Doctor of Letters, honoris causa)

Professor Elizabeth Daley is Dean of the School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) of the University of Southern California (USC), USA. She is a seasoned professional in the film and television industry, with visionary leadership in cinematic arts education.

Professor Daley has been holding the deanship of SCA for 25 years, marking the longest deanship in USC’s history. Her strenuous efforts have significantly enhanced SCA’s academic programmes and infrastructure, and strengthened its ties with the entertainment industry and media arts community.

Before joining USC in 1989, Professor Daley had taken up various positions in the entertainment industry ranging from film and television producer to media consultant. She obtained her BA and MA degrees in Theatre from Tulane University, New Orleans and a PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.

Professor Daley received the CINE (Council on International Non-Theatrical Events) Golden Eagle Award, which honours the creators of exceptional media; The Barbara Jordan Award, the California Governor’s Award; and the Women in Film Business Leadership Award which acknowledges extraordinary contributions by women behind the camera. In addition, she was the inaugural recipient of The Alfred Hitchcock Legacy Award, given on behalf of the Hitchcock Family and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Professor Martin Hairer (Doctor of Science, honoris causa)

Professor Martin Hairer is Regius Professor of Mathematics of the Mathematics Institute of The University of Warwick, UK. He has made ground-breaking contributions to the field of Mathematics by applying his expertise to lead innovations and benefit society. One of his notable contributions is his breakthrough in the study of stochastic partial differential equation. He created a new theory that provides tools for attacking problems which once seemed impenetrable. He has been showered with numerous accolades, including the “Nobel of Mathematics”– the Fields Medal by the International Mathematical Union in 2014; and was elected Fellow of The Royal Society, UK in the same year.

Apart from stochastic partial differential equations, Professor Hairer’s research interests also focus on stochastic analysis, functional analysis and homogenisation theory. In addition to his teaching duties and research, Professor Hairer also spends his time developing computer software. Amadeus Lite and Amadeus Pro, two powerful tools for editing different sound formats produced by his company HairerSoft, have won high acclaim among professional users.

Professor Hairer completed his undergraduate studies in Mathematics & Physics and postgraduate studies in Physics at University of Geneva before joining the Mathematics Institute of The University of Warwick in 2002.

Mr David Mong Tak-yeung (Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa)

Mr David Mong is the Chairman and Group CEO of Shun Hing Group, a multi-faceted Hong Kong-based company with a broad spectrum of businesses, as the sole agent for different brands of electronic appliance, as well as the development of infrastructure and environmental projects. Under his leadership, the Group has continued into its sixth decade of robust growth and remained a household name synonymous with credibility.

Mr Mong completed an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA from Santa Clara University, California, USA. He worked at Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited in Japan from 1985 to 1989, where he gained knowledge on the innovative technology, manufacturing process and management system employed by Japanese manufacturers, and also a thorough appreciation for Japanese cultural etiquette.

Mr Mong has devoted himself to community service. He chairs the Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund which has supported numerous projects in education, medical services, sports, community services, cultural events and arts in Hong Kong and around the world. Volunteer service is a required dimension of work life in Shun Hing Company, and Mr Mong leads by being a fine example of it. 

Mr Mong is a longstanding supporter of Hong Kong Baptist University. He served as a member of the University Council, and is currently a member of the Board of Governors and the Entrepreneur Committee of the Hong Kong Baptist University Foundation.

Professor Valerie Smith (Doctor of Letters, honoris causa)

A distinguished scholar of African-American literature, Professor Valerie Smith is the 15th president of Swarthmore College in the United States. Upon her arrival at Swarthmore, she identified several priorities, including attracting more low-income and first-generation students for an exceptional undergraduate experience. She has also cited a strong commitment to curricular innovation and to strengthening relationships between the College and the region.

Professor Smith began her career in higher education at Princeton University in 1980, where she rose through the ranks from an instructor to an associate professor of English and Afro-American Studies. In 1989, she joined the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as associate professor of English, eventually serving as chair of UCLA’s Interdepartmental Program in African-American Studies. She returned to Princeton in 2001 as the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature and Professor of English and African American Studies and later served as founding director of Center for African American Studies and the dean of the college.

She is the recipient of fellowships from the Alphonse G Fletcher Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She also received the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University in 2009.

She holds a BA from Bates College and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Virginia. She is the author of more than 40 articles and three books on African-American literature, culture, film, and photography and is the editor or co-editor of seven volumes.