Honorary University Fellows

Citation delivered by the Dean of Education, Professor Shirley Grundy:

Mrs Anne Marden is a dedicated philanthropist who, for the past 60 years, has been committed to supporting education in Hong Kong and creating educational opportunities for children with disabilities and from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

In 1960, Mrs Marden was appointed Director of the Hong Kong Red Cross and led the building and running of the Princess Alexandra Red Cross Residential School. During the 1970s, three Marden Foundation Schools were built, with Mrs Marden working closely with Caritas and the then Education Department of the Government.

As a member of the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation, Mrs Marden worked to establish the Rehabaid Centre and has remained as a Governing Committee member and a member of the Rehabaid Society. She is a Founding Member of two charitable organisations dedicated to supporting the developmental well-being of children – TREATS and Playright Children’s Play Association. She is the Honorary President of Playright which recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary.

At HKU, we are grateful for Mrs Marden’s active and long-standing support of the Faculty of Education. She funded an annual Marden Foundation Visiting Fellowship in Education from 1991 to 2004, which brought distinguished visitors to HKU and significantly enhanced our research and community profile. She is an esteemed friend of the Faculty, and we have had the pleasure of Mrs Marden’s attendance at many Faculty functions, including the important occasion of the Faculty’s 20th anniversary and its annual Graduation Ceremony.

Mrs Marden has been a Justice of the Peace since 1973 and received the Caltex Community Service Award in 1990. She was awarded an MBE in 1991 and the Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2006.

It gives me great pleasure, Mr Pro-Chancellor, to present Mrs Anne Marden for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of her contributions to Hong Kong and academia.