UIC will confer Honorary Fellowships on five prominent individuals in the fields of academia, artificial intelligence and the arts. The conferment is set to be held during the 10th Graduation Ceremony and Honorary Fellowship Conferment at the University Hall on 29 June 2018.
The honorary fellowships will be awarded to Prof Peter M. Bentler, an American psychologist, statistician, and distinguished professor at the University of California, Los Angeles; Dr Liu Qingfeng, The founder and Chief Executive Officer of iFLYTEK Co. Ltd; Prof Chia-Wei Woo, President Emeritus and University Professor Emeritus at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Professor Ye Lang, the Boya (Liberal Arts) Chair Professor at Peking University; Prof Zhang Hongyan, a renowned Pipa (Chinese lute) performer and educator, as well as a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM), China.
The Honorary Fellowship is an honour bestowed on distinguished contributors to the mission of UIC for their sustained commitment to the development of education and society.
As the first college that was co-founded by educational institutions from both Hong Kong and mainland China, UIC conferred its first Honorary Fellowships in 2012, keeping up with Hong Kong Baptist University’s tradition. Currently, 26 important public figures have received this honour, who hails from Zhuhai and other mainland cities, as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan, the UK and the USA.
Profiles of the Honorary-Fellows-to-be:
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Peter M. Bentler
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Prof Peter M. Bentler is an American psychologist and statistician and is a distinguished professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research focuses on multivariate analysis and psychometrics, and he is the main developer of the structural equation modelling software EQS. As of 2017, his work has been cited more than 190,000 times. In 2014, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Psychometric Society. In 2015, he was selected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. Professor Bentler’s teaching interests include personality traits, substance abuse, psychometrics, as well as theories, methods, and applications of causal modelling.
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Liu Qingfeng
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Dr Liu Qingfeng is the founder and CEO of his company, iFLYTEK, which is a forerunner in the national languages industry and an industry leader for intelligent speech engines and the artificial intelligence industry in China. He is also engaged in many other roles, including a part-time professor at his alma mater, supervisor of doctoral students, the Co-Director General of the Artificial Intelligence Industry-University-Research-Innovation Alliance of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of the National Engineering Laboratory for Speech and Language Information Processing, a member of the Standing Committee of All-China Youth Federation, and member of the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th National People’s Congress. His outstanding achievements in technological innovation and production have won him numerous awards, such as a China Youth Five Four Medal, CCTV Chinese Annual Economic Figures 2013, and Top Ten Economic Personages of China 2017. |
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Woo Chia-Wei
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Prof Woo Chia-Wei is the founding President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). In his 13 years’ presidency, he built HKUST into a world-class university and a top-ranked university in Asia. After retirement, he continues to serve the University as a President Emeritus and University Professor Emeritus. In 1983, at the age of 45, he became President of San Francisco State University, the first Chinese-American to head a major university in the US. Professor Woo has published over 120 papers and books in various fields of physics. He has also published four books on his experiences in learning, teaching, and university administration. Professor Woo received many honours and awards including the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award from the United Nations Association, a Gold Bauhinia Star by the Government of Hong Kong, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by the Queen of United Kingdom, and Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur by the President of France. |
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Ye Lang
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Prof Lang Ye is the Liberal Arts Chair Professor at Peking University. After graduating from the Department of Philosophy at Peking University in 1960, he began teaching at his alma mater and was promoted to professor in 1986. In 2006, Professor Ye founded the School of Arts at Peking University and acted as Dean of the School of Arts. In 1990, Professor Ye was nominated as one of China’s young and middle-aged experts who have made outstanding contributions. He was a Standing Committee Member of the 9th and 10th National People’s Congress, the Coordinator of the 5th State Council Evaluation Team for philosophy subjects, the Chair Committee Member of MOE’s second Higher Education Institutions Committee for the direction of teaching philosophy subjects, and the Chair Committee Member of the MOE’s fifth and sixth committees on arts education. Additionally, Professor Ye has published many books, including The Aesthetics of Chinese Novel, The Outline of the History of Chinese Aesthetics, and Aesthetics in Images, which are very influential in the field of aesthetic research. |
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Zhang Hongyan
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Prof Zhang Hongyan is a renowned Pipa (Chinese lute) performer and educator, as well as a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM), China. Her album, “Ambush on All Sides”, has been sold in more than 40 countries and regions. In 2006, her album received the Award for Recording Arts and Sciences of Asia and was chosen to be permanently housed in the Library of Congress (USA) and the American Folklife Center. As a devoted volunteer music educator, Prof Zhang always participates in musical activities rather than merely instructing. Through her method of “playing whilst talking”, she has led her Plucked-string Group to hold many lecture concerts across many countries and regions including Asia, America and Africa while also attracting many folk music enthusiasts. |
Reporter: Samantha Burns
Editor: Samuel Burgess, Deen He
(from MPRO)
