Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1979

Address by Professor W. H. Trethowan Mr. Vice-Chancellor, ladies and gentlemen, I am sure I speak not only for myself but also on behalf of m y fellow honorary graduates when I tell you how conscious all three of us are of the honour done to us by The Chinese University of Hong Kong in conferring honorary degrees upon us on the occasion of this Congregation. Speaking for myself I can say that this is a moment I shall always look back upon with special delight as it marks the highest point so far in m y association with the University in that it makes m e a member of it as well as awarding me a doctor's degree which is something which I have never possessed until now. When the Vice-Chancellor wrote and told m e of the proposal to confer this upon m e I at once replied saying how happy I would be to receive this accolade. At the same time I took the opportunity of stressing how greatly I valued m y association with the University in m y capacity as Chairman of its Medical Academic Advisory Commitee. This, as I am sure most people here already know is the body responsible for advising the University on a wide range of matters concerned with the foundation of its new Medical School. The original invitation to chair the Committee which I have now done ever since April 1976 ， promised from the very start to be a most exciting prospect, quite apart from affording me and m y fellow members the always enjoyable opportunity of making fairly frequent visits to Hong Kong. I was not disappointed; for indeed I am constantly amazed at the progress that has been made since then. This is in large measure due to all those who have had the responsibility of implementing the Committee's advice. Although I am aware that others have also been involved—perhaps too numerous to mention on this occasion—I would like to pay particular tribute to the Dean of Medicine, Professor Gerald Choa who, together with Mr. Arthur Starling, has worked hard and long in order to ensure that the plans that the Committee has put forward are implemented as smoothly as possible.