Honorary University Fellows
Citation delivered by Professor Sun KWOK, Dean of Science
Dr Sarah Sau Tung LIAO is a distinguished alumna of this University and is currently its Senior Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor on Sustainable Development.
From HKU, Dr Liao holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Chemistry, an MPhil in Inorganic Chemistry, and a PhD in Environmental/Occupational Health. She also has an MSc in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Birmingham, UK.
Dr Liao is perhaps most widely known for being the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works of the Hong Kong SAR Government from 2002 to 2007.
As Secretary, she was responsible for a vast and complex portfolio that included environmental protection, transport services and safety management, road and rail infrastructure, water supply, slope safety and flood prevention, electrical and mechanical and architectural services, and a comprehensive public works programme.
Dr Liao adopted sustainable development strategies in her policies, encouraged public engagement to build strong community awareness, and encouraged the usage of new technologies wherever possible. She was the senior environmental advisor to Beijing's Olympic Organizing Committee from 2000 to 2008.
Dr Liao is a Fellow of the Royal Chemical Society, the City and Guilds of the London Institute and the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. She is an appointed member of the Chinese Council of International Cooperation on Environment and Development.
But if it appears from this description that Dr Liao is a formidable public figure, let it be said that she is also an individual who cherishes the smaller, but more personal, qualities of friendship, loyalty and humanity.
She has supported the University as a HKU Foundation Member, and we will now also have the benefit of her expertise and experience on environmental and sustainability issues.
Dr Liao has been an active, enthusiastic, and let it be noted, very popular Mentor to our students for nearly a decade.
But perhaps the most revealing observation about Dr Liao is this: In 2004, she attended a small memorial ceremony on campus for the late Mrs Dorothy Ada Collins. There, Dr Liao described her respect for and friendship with her former HKU Chemistry teacher in such an emotional and deeply touching tribute that no one in the room was left unmoved.
Dr Liao was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1994, awarded an MBE in 1997 and a Gold Bauhinia Star in 2007.
It gives me great pleasure, Mr Pro-Chancellor, to present Dr Sarah Sau Tung LIAO for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of her contributions to Hong Kong and academia.