Lingnan University to confer honorary doctorates upon three distinguished individuals
Lingnan University will confer honorary doctorates upon three distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their respective professions and valuable contributions to the well-being of society. The honorary doctorate recipients are The Hon Bernard Charnwut Chan, Prof Roy Chung Chi-ping and Prof James J Heckman.
The honorary doctorates will be awarded at the 46th Congregation of Lingnan University to be held at the Chan Tak Tai Auditorium on campus on Tuesday, 17 November 2015.
Biographies of the honorary doctorate recipients:
The Hon Bernard Charnwut Chan, GBS, JP
Mr Bernard Chan is President of both Asia Financial Holdings and its subsidiary Asia Insurance, and an adviser to Bangkok Bank (China) Co Ltd. He is also Chairman of the Hong Kong-Thailand Business Council, which encourages the development of trade and investment between the two places.
Mr Chan’s public service record is too long to be recounted in full. He in particular has broad concern for three social policy areas: education, social welfare and quality of life. His duties include serving as a Hong Kong Deputy in the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, a non-official member of the Hong Kong SAR Government Executive Council, Chairperson of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Chairman of the Council for Sustainable Development, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Revitalisation of Historical Buildings, Chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, Chairman of the Steering Committee on Restored Landfill Revitalisation Funding Scheme, and Chairman of the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food. Mr Chan has received multiple honours and awards over the years, both in Hong Kong and abroad. He has been appointed a Justice of the Peace, and awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR Government for his distinguished and extensive public service.
Of special meaning to the Lingnan community is Mr Chan’s unique contribution to the University. From initial membership of the University Council and Court to his subsequent appointments as Treasurer, Deputy Chairman and eventually as Chairman of the Council from 2008 to 2014, Mr Chan served Lingnan with inspiring dedication and distinction for a total of 15 years.
Mr Chan will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Humanities honoris causa by Lingnan University.
Prof Roy Chung Chi-ping, BBS, JP
Prof Roy Chung Chi-ping is a renowned industrialist of Hong Kong. He founded Techtronic Industries Co Ltd with a partner in 1985 and developed it into a global leader in the production of home improvement and construction tools, and became the respected “King of Power Tools”.
Prof Chung has dedicated himself to the advancement of industry in Hong Kong. His many contributions include serving as Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, a member of the Innovation & Technology Steering Committee of the Innovation & Technology Commission of the Hong Kong SAR Government, a General Committee member of the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies, Vice- Chairman of The Hong Kong Standards & Testing Centre Limited, a Director of The Hong Kong Safety Institute Ltd, Vice-Chairman of Hong Kong Design Centre Ltd, a Council Member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council as well as Chairman of its Electronics/ Electrical Appliances Industry Advisory Committee. He is also concerned with community welfare beyond his industry, and participates actively in voluntary and public services locally and abroad. He had served as Deputy Chairman of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Council, and is currently Chairman of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Court as well as a director of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Development Foundation. In addition, Prof Chung is, or has been, a Council Member of the University of Warwick, Vice-Chairman of the Vocational Training Council, Chairman of the Faculty of Business Advisory Board at Lingnan University, Executive Committee Chairman of Outward Bound Hong Kong, Executive Committee Chairman of the Boys’ and Girls’ Club Association of Hong Kong, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Paediatric Foundation. He is also the founder of the Bright Future Charitable Foundation.
Prof Chung’s multiple accomplishments have received broad recognition over the years. He won the Federation of Hong Kong Industries’ Hong Kong Young Industrialist Award in 1997, and was further named Industrialist of the Year in 2014. He was appointed as a Justice of Peace in 2005, and awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2011.
Prof Chung will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa by Lingnan University.
Prof James J Heckman
A world authority in the economics of human development, Prof James J Heckman is a scientist, economist, and above all, a humanist who is devoted to serving humanity with hard knowledge and first rate research skills.
Prof Heckman is the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He currently directs the Economics Research Center, the Center for the Economics of Human Development, and the Center for Social Program Evaluation at the Harris School of Public Policy. He is a professor of law at the University of Chicago School of Law, senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation, and research fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He won the John Bates Clark Medal in 1983 and the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2000. These are on top of scores of notable awards and honors from all over the world which were piled on him for his contribution to the education and development of children and public policy, for his ground-breaking contributions in econometrics, and for his renowned achievements in labor economics.
Prof Heckman's work has been devoted to developing a scientific approach to economic policy evaluation, with special emphasis on models of individuals and disaggregated groups. His recent research focuses on human development and lifecycle skill formation, with a special emphasis on the economics of early childhood development.
Prof Heckman will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa by Lingnan University.