UM To Confer Honorary Doctoral Degrees on Three Distinguished Scholars

Prof. Gu Mingyuan

Prof. Tu Weiming

Dr. Wang Meng

The University of Macau (UM) will hold an honorary doctoral degrees conferment ceremony at the Tap Seac Multi-Sports Pavilion at 15:00 this afternoon (7 November). At the ceremony UM will confer honorary doctoral degrees upon three distinguished scholars, namely Prof. Gu Mingyuan, Prof. Tu Weiming, and Dr. Wang Meng, in recognition of their outstanding achievements and significant contributions in educational, philosophical and literary fields. Mr. Edmund Ho, Chief Executive of Macao SAR and UM’s Chancellor, will preside at the ceremony.

UM confers on a yearly basis honorary doctoral degrees upon individuals with outstanding achievements in various fields in recognition of their contributions to the society. By the end of this afternoon’s conferment ceremony, UM will have conferred honorary doctoral degrees upon four distinguished individuals, namely the 41^st US President Mr. George Herbert Walker Bush, Prof. Gu Mingyuan, Prof. Tu Weiming, and Dr. Wang Meng.

Mr. Bush is a well-known pioneer in the normalization of Sino-US relations and the first official US representative in China who helped elevate the Sino-US relations to new heights.

Prof. Gu Mingyuan is a distinguished educator. Presently he serves at Beijing Normal

University as Dean Emeritus of the College of Education Administration, Advisor to the Faculty of Education, and professor at the International and Comparative Education Research Institute. From 1992 to 1996 he served as the Vice President of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies. He is the founder of Comparative Education, a national-level key discipline. He is also the President of the Chinese Society of Education, the largest and most influential educational and academic organization in China.

Prof. Tu Weiming is a leading third-generation figure of Confucianism. Presently he serves as Professor of Chinese History and Philosophy and Harvard-Yenching Chair Professor at Harvard University, Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and Director of the Institute of Culture and Communication at the East-West Center in Hawaii. He is the recipient of the 10^th T’oege Prize in South Korea and the 2^nd UN Thomas Berry Award. He has also been conferred the Outstanding Achievement Award in Humanities from the Humanist Chaplainy at Harvard in 2007 and the 2009 Confucius Culture Award.

Dr. Wang Meng is a renowned contemporary writer, a recognized leader in the domestic cultural circle, and a famous cultural activist in the world. He used to serve as a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Minister of Culture of the People’s Republic of China. Presently he serves as Honorary Vice Chairman of the Chinese Writers’ Association, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Centre of the International PEN, and Vice Chairman of Chinese Association for International Understanding. He is among the few domestic writers with widespread international influence. His works have been published in more than 30 countries and districts and have won numerous awards.

In order to save the elderly Mr. Bush the trouble of long-distance travel, UM’s top management including University Council Chair Dr. Daniel Tse, University Council Treasurer Mr. Wong Chong Fat, and Rector Wei Zhao went to the US in this April to present the honorary doctoral degree to him.

Lectures by these recipients of honorary doctoral degrees opened at UM yesterday. Dr. Wang Meng gave two lectures, titled “Seminar of the Study of Wang Meng’s Works” and “The Way of Literature” respectively. On the afternoon of the same day, Prof. Gu Mingyuan gave a lecture titled “Educational Development of the Mainland in the Past Three Decades”. Prof. Tu Weiming will give a lecture titled “Dialogue of Civilizations and Innovation of Confucianism” at Room HG03, UM, at 10AM on 2 December.

Besides, the Congregation cum Ceremony for the Conferment of Degrees of Doctor honoris causa 2009 will take place on 7 November.