EdUHK to Confer First Batch of Honorary Doctorates
EdUHK to Confer First Batch of Honorary Doctorates
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) will confer its first honorary doctorates on two distinguished individuals at the Congregation to be held on 18 November 2016 (Friday).
The conferment ceremony will also feature the first batch of around 3,200 EdUHK graduates from undergraduate, postgraduate and other programmes since its establishment in May 2016.
The two honorary doctorate recipients are (in alphabetical order):
- Professor Michael W. Apple, FAERA; and
- Dr Eric Li Ka-cheung, GBS, JP
Officiating at the ceremony will be EdUHK’s Council Chairman Dr Pang Yiu-kai. The two recipients have made significant contributions to their respective fields in advancing education and social progress.
Professor Michael W. Apple, FAERA
~ Doctor of Education, honoris causa
A distinguished scholar and theorist who was selected as one of the fifty most important education scholars of the 20th Century, Professor Michael W. Apple is considered one of the most influential figures in the education field, particularly for his research on ideology and curriculum and the development of democratic schools in addition to his questioning of neoliberal education. He is currently the John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in the United States. He also holds Distinguished Professor appointments at a number of other universities in the UK and China.
A former elementary and secondary school teacher and past-president of a teachers’ union, Professor Apple has worked with universities, education systems, governments, unions, and activist and dissident groups around the world to democratise educational research, policy and practice.
Writing extensively on the politics of education reform, on the relationship between culture and power, as well as education for social justice, Professor Apple’s publications have won numerous awards and have been translated into many languages. Among his many books are Ideology and Curriculum; Education and Power; Teachers and Texts; Official Knowledge; Democratic Schools; Cultural Politics and Education; Power, Meaning, and Identity; The State and the Politics of Knowledge; The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Education; The Routledge International Handbook of the Sociology of Education; Global Crises, Social Justice, and Education; and most recently, Knowledge, Power, and Education; and Can Education Change Society?
Professor Apple is also the editor of an international series of books published by Routledge, Critical Social Thought. His books Ideology and Curriculum and Official Knowledge were selected as two of the most significant books on education in the 20th Century. His material has been influential in the development of more socially critical and democratic education policies and practices.
In recognition of his significant contributions to critical education, Professor Apple has been conferred a number of honorary doctorates by universities around the world. He has also been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Educational Research Association and the UCLA Medal for “Distinguished Academic Achievement”.
Dr Eric Li Ka-cheung, GBS, JP
~ Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa
A distinguished accounting professional, Dr Eric Li Ka-cheung is currently Senior Partner at Li, Tang, Chen & Co. Certified Public Accountants, a former member of the Legislative Council and Chairman of its Public Accounts Committee.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from The University of Manchester, Dr Li was named Hong Kong’s first Accountant of the Year in 1993 and received the International Accountant Award in 2002. In 1994, he was elected President of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and later appointed a member of the expert advisory panel to the Ministry of Finance, People’s Republic of China.
Dr Li has been appointed to a wide cross section of other important government boards and committees, including the Banking Advisory Committee and the Exchange Fund Investments Ltd. Currently, he is a member of the Twelfth Political Consultative Committees of the People’s Republic of China.
Dr Li is committed to advancement in the higher education sector. He served on the Council of the former Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) as Treasurer from 2009 to 2015, during which period the Institute embarked on its “Education-plus” journey. His ties with EdUHK have remained close through his current role as a steward of its Foundation. He has also been appointed an Adjunct Professor of the School of Accountancy and Chairman of the Advisory Board on Accounting Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Adjunct Professor at the School of Business at Hong Kong Baptist University and a member of the Regional Advisory Board for the London Business School. In addition, he had served as the Chairman of the Hong Kong Sports Institute from 2005 to 2012.
In recognition of his achievements and contributions, Dr Li was named a Non‑official Justice of the Peace (JP) in 1991 and Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1996. He received a Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS) from the HKSAR government in 2003. He also received an Honorary Doctorate of Social Sciences from Hong Kong Baptist University in 2000, an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from The University of Manchester in 2002 and several Honorary Fellowships from universities and professional bodies.
