On 12 September, business leader and philanthropist Dr Lee Shau Kee was admitted to Oxford University’s prestigious Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors. The Court, which now has more than 200 members, celebrates and recognises those friends and supporters who have been outstandingly generous towards the University and the colleges.
The honour was conferred on Dr Lee Shau Kee in recognition of the Lee Shau Kee Scholarship Scheme, which was established in 1979 and ran for 28 years. During this time, 100 of Hong Kong’s most talented students were given the opportunity to come to Oxford and study an undergraduate degree at Wadham College.
More than 40 former scholars attended the ceremony – which took place in Hong Kong – along with Dr Lee Shau Kee’s family, friends and colleagues.
Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of the University, commented: ‘Dr Lee Shau Kee has done so much to deepen the strong and important links between Oxford and Hong Kong. Alumni of the Lee Shau Kee Scholarships have gone on to become leaders in business, law and engineering,’ adding that: ‘They have made their mark not only on Oxford and Hong Kong, but on the world.’
Dr Lee Shau Kee said: ‘I am very privileged to become a member of the University of Oxford’s Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors. It has indeed all along been my personal aspiration to nurture the young generation to become future leaders for the betterment of the whole society. I am delighted to see that the Lee Shau Kee Scholars have excelled across various professions and I hope they will be inspired to contribute to society.’
Dr the Honourable Lee Shau Kee is the Founder and Chairman of Henderson Land Development Company Limited, a leading Hong Kong property development group. In 1986 he was named an Honorary Fellow of Wadham College, and in 2013, the Lee Shau Kee Scholars Seminar Room was opened there, having been funded by generations of Lee Scholars.