Press Release
HKBU to confer honorary doctoral degrees on five distinguished persons
Thursday, 27 Sep 2018
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) will confer honorary doctoral degrees at its Commencement on 19 November on five distinguished persons for their outstanding and professional achievements as well as their remarkable contributions to society.
Mrs Doreen Chan Hui Dor-lam (陳許多琳女士), veteran banker, and Dr Philip Chen Nan-lok (陳南祿博士), distinguished business executive, will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa. Dr Ko Wing-man (高永文醫生), eminent leader in public health services in Hong Kong, and Professor Michael Schudson, world-leading scholar of journalism, will be bestowed the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa. Professor Shi Yigong (施一公教授), prominent structural biophysicist, will receive the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.
Mrs Doreen Chan (Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa)
Mrs Doreen Chan is a veteran banker, with more than 40 years' experience in the industry. With her rich experience in retail banking and a track record of successful business turnarounds, she was the first female Chief Executive Officer in the Hong Kong banking sector.
Mrs Chan joined the Standard Chartered Bank at a junior entry-level position and was eventually promoted to head its Retail Banking business in Hong Kong. During the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, Mrs Chan joined the then Ka Wah Bank Limited (now China CITIC Bank International) to assist in its overall re-positioning and development of its retail banking business. After the acquisition of Hongkong Chinese Bank, Mrs Chan was appointed CEO, taking charge of the integration of the two banks, followed by the further internationalising of its commercial banking business. She retired in 2013.
Mrs Chan is a devoted Christian and has an impressive record of church, public and community service. She served as Chairman of the Board of the China Graduate School of Theology, and members of the General Committee of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Advisory Board of the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation, and the Banking Advisory Committee of the HKSAR Government. She is currently Board member of Haven of Hope Christian Service, and an Independent Non-Executive Director of Dah Chong Hong Holdings Limited.
During her 11 years of service to HKBU, Mrs Chan has dedicated herself to the development of the University in the capacity of Treasurer to the Council, Court and the HKBU Foundation. She has initiated a number of constructive measures to foster the University's financial management, and also led the strategic review of the Beijing Normal University-HKBU United International College, rendering wise counsel on the University's governance.
Dr Philip Chen (Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa)
Dr Philip Chen is a brilliant business executive and community leader with a long and distinguished career in business management and has made a significant contribution to the management field in Hong Kong, Mainland China and worldwide. He is currently Adviser to the Chairman and a Non-Executive Director of Hang Lung Properties Limited.
Dr Chen received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History and MBA degree from The University of Hong Kong. He has more than 30 years of solid management experience and has served as Chairman of John Swire & Sons (China) Limited, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, and Chief Executive Officer of the Hang Lung Group and Hang Lung Properties Limited.
Beyond his contributions to local, regional and global business, Dr Chen has held a long list of public appointments, and has been a staunch supporter of Hong Kong's tertiary education sector, particularly the University Grants Committee as a member, and as the Chairman of its Quality Assurance Council.
Transferring his knowledge to the theme park industry, Dr Chen successfully demonstrated his exemplary management knowledge and talents by engineering a major turnaround in the fortunes of Ocean Park Hong Kong in his capacity as its Chairman. He was also appointed a Non-executive Director of the Board of Hongkong International Theme Parks Limited (Hong Kong Disneyland). In recognition of his outstanding contributions and services to society, Dr Chen was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star and the Silver Bauhinia Star, and appointed a Justice of the Peace by the HKSAR Government. He was also bestowed with honorary doctoral degrees by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Lingnan University.
Dr Ko Wing-man (Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa)
Dr Ko Wing-man is an eminent leader in public health services in Hong Kong. He previously served as Secretary for Food and Health of the HKSAR Government, and Acting Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority. Over the years, he has been committed to promoting and protecting the health of all citizens and enhancing food safety and environmental hygiene services in Hong Kong.
Dr Ko obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees from The University of Hong Kong, and his Master of Health Administration degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK, the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine in Orthopaedic Surgery and Community Medicine, and the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, UK.
Dr Ko was working for the Hospital Authority amid the outbreak of SARS. He succeeded in maintaining stability in the system and the public's confidence by advancing concerted professional efforts to fight the outbreak. He also pioneered a new cooperative rehabilitation model to care for victims of the Sichuan earthquake and to link medical professionals together and make joint treatment decisions. In recognition of his long service in the public health sector, especially for his pioneering work in enhancing Hong Kong-Mainland medical exchange, Dr Ko was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star and the Bronze Bauhinia Star.
Dr Ko has contributed greatly to HKBU and served as a Member of the Council and its Personnel Committee. He has also lent great support to the development of the School of Chinese Medicine by serving as its Honorary Professor and Chairman of its Advisory Committee.
Professor Michael Schudson (Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa)
Professor Michael Schudson is one of the world-leading scholars in the study of journalism and currently Professor of Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, USA.
Professor Schudson graduated from Swarthmore College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and obtained his PhD and master's degree in Sociology from Harvard University, USA. His career began in social history, with the publication of a landmark study, Discovering the News, which traced the emergence of modern American journalism over the 19th and 20th century.
Professor Schudson has demonstrated the breadth of his intellectual vision in publishing scholarly work on aspects of US life as diverse as: the role of advertising, the history of what it means to be a citizen and the nature of political participation, developments in the disciplines of both cultural and memory studies, and the impact of digital technologies on the media, democracy and society. The connecting thread in his work is a deep engagement with civic life in the USA, in particular those characteristics of critical independence and the serious exploration of public issues which underpin the phases of US journalism.
Professor Schudson has written nine books and edited four others, together with a large body of scholarly articles in the leading journals in his field. His scholarly credentials in the field of media and communication studies are unquestionable and have won him many prestigious honours such as a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Fellow" award and a Murray Edelman Distinguished Career Award. Scholars who write about the media, either in the USA or more broadly in an international context, will be obliged to make reference to his work and acknowledge the penetrating insights and clear exposition that mark his publications.
Professor Shi Yigong (Doctor of Science, honoris causa)
Professor Shi Yigong is a prominent structural biophysicist, and serves as a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, and Foreign Associate of the European Molecular Biology Organisation. He is currently President of Westlake University, China.
Professor Shi graduated from Tsinghua University in Beijing and received his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins University in the USA. He previously worked in Princeton University and later in Tsinghua University as Head of the Department of Biology, Dean of the School of Life Sciences, and Vice President. With the vision of developing world-class private research universities in Mainland China, Professor Shi worked diligently with his peers to establish the Westlake Institute for Advanced Study and Westlake University in Hangzhou, China and serves as the founding President of Westlake University.
Professor Shi has achieved remarkable standards of excellence in science, technology and higher education. He also made innovative and outstanding contributions through the application of structural biology tools and biochemical techniques. In the research area of apoptosis, Professor Shi has systematically elucidated the molecular mechanism of the regulation of apoptosis protease activity, which has promoted a better understanding of the mechanism of tumorigenesis. He has published over 180 research articles which provided essential knowledge of protein structures for the understanding of various kinds of human diseases and the development of the pertinent clinical drugs.
Professor Shi's research excellence has won him multiple international recognitions, such as the Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Biophysics, the Gregori Aminoff Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize for Scientific and Technology Achievements and the Future Science Prize – Life Science Prize.
Photos of the five honorary doctoral degree recipients can be downloaded from below.
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Media enquiries:
Jasmine Lau of the Communication & Public Relations Office (3411 7828, hkbunews@hkbu.edu.hk).
