HKU Bulletin June 2011 (Vol. 12 No. 2)

Dr Sun Yat-sen visited the University on February 20, 1923 and gave a speech at the Great Hall (Loke Yew Hall). The Sun Yat-sen Statue at the Lily Pond, unveiled on November 12, 2003. Dr SUN YAT-SEN Dr Sun, who played a central role in the founding of modern China in 1912, had a soft spot for HKU. He was one of the first two graduates of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (the forerunner of HKU) in 1892, graduating with a Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery. In 1923 he visited HKU's campus where he proclaimed: "I feel as though I have returned home because Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong are the birthplace of my knowledge." A statue of Dr Sun is by the University's lily pond. The Foundation Stone of the Main Building was laid with this trowel by Sir Frederick Lugard on March 16, 1910. SIR HORMUSJEE NOWROJEE MODY Sir H.N. Mody was a Parsee merchant who stepped in to provide financial backing for the proposed HKU when it seemed on the brink of being abandoned. He worked closely with Governor Lugard to steer the project forward and at the ground-breaking ceremony, presented the Governor with a golden trowel. The Governor, in turn, proceeded to announce that Mody had been appointed a Knight Bachelor. A bust of Sir H.N. Mody is outside Loke Yew Hall. The stone laying ceremony of the University Foundation Day on March 16, 1910. Sir Hormusjee Nowrojee Mody. Centenary The HKU Coat of Arms comprises a shield and a motto, and was granted by the UK College of Arms in 1913. The full armorial bearings shown here were granted in 1984. June 2011 09 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin Vision The University of Hong Kong, as a leading international institution of higher learning in Asia, strives to attract and nurture outstanding scholars from around the world through excellence and innovation in teaching and learning, research and knowledge exchange, contributing to the advancement of society and the development of leaders through a global presence, regional significance and engagement with the rest of China. Excerpt from the 2009-2014 Stratgegic Development document The Mace bears the University's coat of arms and is carried in University processions as the symbol of authority.