Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1998

Her association w i th this university is another facet of her determination to help young people. Since her father was one of the founders of our university, she may also be seen as continuing his interest in Hong Kong education, especially t h r o u gh her l o ng involvement w i t h Chung Chi College as a member of the Board of Trustees and treasurer and chairman of its Finance Committee. She has subsequently joined the Council of The Chinese University. She made possible the wo r k s h o ps on the ' Op en Ch em i s t ry L a b o r a t o r y' a nd the Ch i na Pa t h o l o gy Programme. Over the years she has played a key role in making the Lee Hysan Foundation, t he ir f am i ly f o u n d a t i o n, a keen a nd magnanimous patron of developments in higher educational and cultural activities in H o n g Ko n g. The f o u n d a t i on has also gene r ou s ly f u n d ed our state-of-the-art concert hall on campus thus furthering our efforts to bring the larger community into the University and to give our students and performers a brilliant space for the cultivation of their talents. Such a combination of business and benevolence demands enormous reserves of energy. Her activities also require broad and far-sighted perspectives on life, yet w i t h concentration on detail, team work, effective use of time, and good timing, as we ll as the steely determination to get a challenging job done, though difficulties seem insurmountable. These are also some of the qualities needed for climbing mountains, and that, in fact, is Dr. Rudgard's preferred recreation. Is she ever afraid of the obvious dangers? Indeed, yes. If you defined her wo rk as efforts to change the wo r ld through business and the generous f und i ng of excellent people and their projects, you could conclude that her work and her recreation not only share similar qualities but offer a similar reward: when you have survived to achieve the heights, you feel a wonderful joy. Yet her holiday sport offers also an escape from her business life into a different, humbling and re-energizing world. Am i d the snow and the sting of the w i nd, she must concentrate wholly on the climb and forget the worst worries of her other life. Though she may regret the loss of her medical career, her drive to help and nurture others has never flagged, and she is glad that the mass of Hong Kong residents now have access to medical people and facilities and that there is u n i v e r s al edu c a t i on. These observations link w i th her lifelong interests and her strong belief, held also by her father before her, that the best investment is i n people, especially i n young people, for their talents w i ll in a few years bring ample returns to their society and the wo r ld at large, in the quiet but effective work that helps us build a decent society, as well as in the artistic talents that show a society has come of age. Both kinds are necessary. Madam Chancellor, Dr. Rudgard is an exceptional person who has never forgotten the needs of Hong Kong's youth. She has used her sharp intellect to seek the best ways to direct her generosity. I present a great humanitarian, Dr. Deanna Lee Rudgard, for the degree of Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa. {Written by Andrew Parkin) The 53rd Congregation 7