名譽大學院士
何驥先生現任香港商業廣播有限公司（商業電台）主席、香港紅十字會會長及何佐芝馮月燕慈善基金主席。
何先生是加州大學柏克萊分校文學士，並獲校內優等生之榮譽團體頒發「金鎖匙獎」；他也是紐約大學法律系碩士及哈佛大學法學博士。
何先生於哈佛大學畢業後，獲美國加州法定律師協會取錄並委任為加州上訴法院Winslow Christian法官之法律研究員。其後，他在三藩市私人執業接近二十年，同時擔任加州泛美國家銀行之董事局主席（現稱中國信托銀行）。
何先生於九十年代初回流香港，加入其父親已故何佐芝先生OBE, GBS, JP所創立的企業，並於1998年當選為商業電台主席，其一台及二台被公認為全香港最受歡迎的廣播頻道。同年，他獲任命為牛奶國際控股董事。2006年何先生獲香港紅十字會頒發「熱心服務榮譽獎章」，並於2019年當選該會會長。他亦是香港賽馬會榮譽遴選會員。
何佐芝馮月燕慈善基金於香港大學李嘉誠醫學院分別成立了三個「明德教授席」，以促進神經科學、脊柱外科及視覺科學的研究發展；並為港大成立何馮月燕紀念研究生獎學金及羅文惠紀念獎學金。
Citation delivered by Professor Hualing Fu, Dean of Law
Mr George Joseph Ho is Chairman of Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited (Commercial Radio), President of the Hong Kong Red Cross and Chairman of the Jessie and George Ho Charitable Foundation.
Mr Ho holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honour society. He also holds a Master’s degree in Law from New York University and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Harvard University.
After graduating from Harvard, Mr Ho was admitted to the State Bar of California and appointed as Law Clerk to Justice Winslow Christian of the California Court of Appeal. He then entered private practice of law in San Francisco for almost two decades, while serving as Chairman of the Board of Trans National Bank in California, which was the predecessor of Chinatrust Bank (USA).
Mr Ho returned to Hong Kong in the early 1990s to carry on businesses founded by his father, the late George Ho OBE, GBS, JP. In 1998, he was appointed as a director of Dairy Farm International and elected Chairman of Commercial Radio. Channels One and Two of the latter are widely regarded as the city’s most popular radio channels and their programming has been woven into the fabric of the city’s daily life for generations of Hong Kongers.
From a very young age, Mr Ho was profoundly influenced by his parents’ active participation i voluntary social services spearheaded by the Hong Kong Red Cross. His own involvement with the organisation began in 1999 as a member of its Advisory Board. The Hong Kong Red Cross awarded him a Medal of Honour in 2006 and today he leads the organisation after being appointed its President in 2019. His passion for improving the wellbeing of society made him a natural choice for the presidency of the Hong Kong branch of one of the world’s most recognised non-governmental organisations specialising in humanitarian work.
So it should be no surprise that Mr Ho also chairs the Jessie & George Ho Charitable Foundation, which was founded in 2003 by his late father, Mr George Ho. The Foundation’s mission, among other things, is to relieve the financial difficulties of those in need and people affected by natural disasters.
Supporting education through charitable funds, scholarships and bursaries is another key focus of the Foundation’s philanthropic work. It has long been active in the tertiary sector and HKU is grateful to have received the greatest share of the Foundation’s largesse to date.
In particular, the Foundation has established three Endowed Professorships in the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine in Neuroscience, Spine Surgery and Visual Science as well as the Jessie Ho Memorial Postgraduate Fellowships and the M W Lo Memorial Scholarships.
Although widely renowned for his down-to-earth manner and his understated graciousness, there is in Mr Ho a passion, drive and unwavering dedication to public service, philanthropic causes and making a personal difference – which has guided him day by day, year by year, throughout his life – which should serve as inspiration to us all.
Therefore, Mr Pro-Chancellor, it is my great pleasure to present Mr George Joseph Ho for the Honorary University Fellowship in recognition of his contributions to Hong Kong and academia.