CityU Donors, Building Namings, and Philanthropic Families

City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) Comprehensive Information Database · 08 Finance Module · Special Feature on Named Benefactors

Walk through the CityU campus and nearly every landmark building conceals a name—Yeung Kin Man Academic Building, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, Lee Shau Kee Student Residence Village. These names are not arbitrary signposts; they are a living map of CityU's four-decade fundraising history. This entry's purpose: to take that long list of building names, chair professor titles, residence hall names, and college names across the CityU campus, and trace each one back to the individual philanthropists and foundations behind it. CityU has been a university for only forty-odd years and lacks the alumni base of a century-old institution, yet it has built its identity upon "applied disciplines + business + institutionalised fundraising." To understand the names on CityU's buildings and chairs is, in effect, to read CityU's roll of benefactors. This entry follows four strands—named buildings × named chair professorships × named residence halls × named colleges/academic units—profiling the major named donors one by one. For an annual overview of income and expenditure, see finances.md; for the history of endowment campaigns and matching grants, see endowment-campaigns-and-matching-grants.md; for a narrative version of the building-naming stories, see named-buildings-and-donor-families.md.

Style and evidentiary discipline: This entry belongs to the 00–12 neutral factual zone. Named donors are recorded by their actual names (a naming gift is itself a public honour). Every name, amount, and date is cited in situ to an official or news source. CityU does not publicly disclose specific amounts for the vast majority of naming gifts; wherever no official figure is available, this entry honestly notes "no official public figure has been released" and never fabricates one. Current incumbent scholars for named chairs (living individuals who are not members of senior management) are recorded factually from the official directory; where the current senior management of the University is involved, they are referred to by their official title. At CityU, "College/School" refers to an academic faculty and is unrelated to student accommodation (CityU has no collegiate system; see the 10 Colleges module and the ).

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# I. Overview: The Landscape of Naming Gifts at CityU

Naming gifts at CityU are concentrated across four categories of vehicles:

1. Named Buildings: Three core academic buildings (Yeung Kin Man, Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin, Lau Ming Wai); the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre and Library; the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery; the Hu Fa Kuang Sports Centre; and the Jockey Club One Health Tower, among others.
2. Named Chair Professorships: CityU uses endowed funds established by donors to recruit world-class scholars. A named chair professorship is both one of the highest honours the University can bestow upon a scholar and a lasting tribute to the donor who established the fund^※.
3. Named Residence Halls: Many residence halls in the main Cornwall Street cluster and the Ma On Shan Whitehead student village are named after donating organisations or benefactors (see for full details).
4. Named Colleges / Academic Units: The Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies; the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences.

Coordinating platform: University philanthropic donations are coordinated by the CityU Foundation. The single largest fundraising campaign in the last decade has been "United, We Soar," which surpassed the HK$2.5 billion mark in November 2022, reaching its target roughly 18 months ahead of the original 2023 schedule^※ (see endowment-campaigns-and-matching-grants.md for details).

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# II. Named Building Benefactors

# 2.1 Yeung Kin-man (SBS, JP) — Yeung Kin Man Academic Building + Five Named Chairs

CityU's largest and most strategically central teaching building (formerly Academic 1) was named the "Yeung Kin Man Academic Building" on 28 April 2017, in appreciation of Dr Yeung Kin-man's steadfast support and generous donation to the University and its students^※.

• The man: Yeung Kin-man is the founder of Biel Crystal Holdings, a company that manufactures over half of the world's mobile phone glass panels^※. He holds the Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) and is a Justice of the Peace. He is an Honorary Doctor of CityU and Honorary Chairman and Honorary Patron of the CityU Foundation Board of Governors^※.
• Named Chairs: Beyond naming the academic building, Yeung Kin-man has also supported five named chair professorships—in Biomedical Sciences, Finance, Network Science, Photonic Materials, and Sustainable Engineering^※. According to the official list of incumbents, the "Yeung Kin Man Chair Professorship in Biomedical Sciences" is held by Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, the "Yeung Kin Man Chair Professorship in Network Science" by Professor Wu Dapeng, and the "Yeung Kin Man Chair Professorship in Photonic Materials" by Professor Andrey Rogach^※.
• Amount: The specific donation amounts for both the academic building naming and the various chairs have not been disclosed by the University—the press release for the naming of Academic 1 uses only the phrase "a generous donation," with no official public figure available.

# 2.2 Lau Ming-wai — Lau Ming Wai Academic Building

CityU's tallest building (formerly Academic 3, a 20-storey tower with a 5-storey podium) is named the "Lau Ming Wai Academic Building" after donor Lau Ming-wai. Its 18th floor houses CityU's flagship art exhibition space, the "Indra and Harry Banga Gallery"^※ (see 2.5). The donation amount for the naming is not available as an official public figure.

# 2.3 Dr Li Dak-sum and Dr Yip Yio-chin — Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building

The Aedas-designed academic building formerly known as Academic 2 is named the "Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building" after benefactors Dr Li Dak-sum and Dr Yip Yio-chin. The donation amount for the naming is not available as an official public figure.

# 2.4 Sir Run Run Shaw / The Shaw Foundation — Creative Media Centre + Library

Sir Run Run Shaw is the most iconic named benefactor at CityU:

• Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre: This crystalline, faceted building, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, opened in October 2011. In September 2010, CityU received a HK$100 million donation from The Shaw Foundation (Hong Kong) Limited to support university development; in appreciation, the Creative Media Centre was named after Sir Run Run Shaw^※.
• Run Run Shaw Library: The University's main library was founded in 1984 and named after Sir Run Run Shaw in 1990 following a significant donation^※ (the exact amount of that 1990 donation for the library's naming is not available as an official public figure; the HK$100 million figure corresponds to the Shaw Foundation's 2010 donation for the Creative Media Centre).

# 2.5 Mr Harry Banga and Mrs Indra Banga — Indra and Harry Banga Gallery

CityU's flagship art exhibition space, the "Indra and Harry Banga Gallery," is located on the 18th floor of the Lau Ming Wai Academic Building and was named on 5 November 2019 in appreciation of a generous donation from Mr Harry Banga and Mrs Indra Banga^※.

• The couple: Mr Harry Banga is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of The Caravel Group and is described as "a prominent Indian Hongkonger with global vision, deeply rooted in Hong Kong." He was also the first "mega donor" from the international community to support CityU^※. Mrs Indra Banga is a board member of The Caravel Group and co-founder of The Caravel Foundation. The naming was made in celebration of the 25th anniversary of CityU's university title^※.
• Amount: No official public figure has been released (the press release speaks only of "support and a generous donation").

# 2.6 The Dr Hu Fa-kuang Family / Ryoden Development — Hu Fa Kuang Sports Centre + Three Hu Family Named Chairs

The Hu Fa Kuang Sports Centre is named after Dr Hu Fa-kuang, the founder of Ryoden Development. Reopened on 27 May 2026, it features the largest single-storey sports hall among Hong Kong universities, doubles squash courts, and an all-weather indoor running track, among other facilities^※. The family's philanthropy is channelled through the Ryoden Development Charitable Trust, which has established three named professorships at CityU:

• The "Herman Hu Chair Professorship in Nanomaterials"—named after Dr Hu Fa-kuang's eldest son, Herman Hu Shao-ming (GBS, JP), Chairman of Ryoden Development, and currently held by Professor Zhang Hua^※;
• The "Raymond Hu Professorship in Architecture"—named after Herman Hu's brother, Raymond Hu, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Ryoden Development^※;
• The "Jeanie Hu Professorship in Biomedical Sciences"—named after Herman Hu's wife, Jeanie Hu Leung Chi-wei^※.

Herman Hu served on the CityU Council for over 14 years. The family has also established athlete scholarships and supported the development of the Hu Fa Kuang Sports Centre^※. Specific donation amounts for each item have not been disclosed by the University; no official public figures are available.

A note on names: CityU's on-campus Hall 9, "Sir Gordon and Lady Ivy Wu Hall," is named after Sir Gordon Wu (founder of Hopewell Holdings) and his wife. They belong to a different Wu/Hu family from the Hu Fa-kuang / Herman Hu (Ryoden Development) family profiled above and should not be confused.

# 2.7 Dr William Mong Man-wai / Shun Hing Group — Mong Man-wai Building + Shun Hing Named Chairs

CityU has a Mong Man-wai Building, named after Dr William Mong Man-wai, founder of the Shun Hing Group. The same family's Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund—founded in 1984 by the late philanthropist Dr William Mong and having cumulatively disbursed more than HK$1.3 billion over three decades^※—supports two named professorships at CityU: the "Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Chair Professorship in Engineering" (currently held by Professor Chen Guanrong) and the "Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Professorship in Energy and Environment"^※. The donation amount for the naming of the Mong Man-wai Building is not available as an official public figure.

# 2.8 Other Named Buildings (Naming origins per University materials; amounts not disclosed)

CityU has several other buildings named after benefactors. Their naming origins are as per campus information from the University, but the individual donation amounts are not available as official public figures:

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# III. Named Residence Hall Benefactors

Student residence halls at CityU are often named after donating organisations or benefactors. The following is compiled from the current pages of the University's Student Residence Office and naming ceremony records (for the complete residence system, see the ).

# 3.1 Dr Lee Shau-kee (GBM) — Lee Shau Kee Student Residence Village + Hall 6 + Three Named Chairs

Lee Shau-kee is a representative benefactor whose naming footprint at CityU spans multiple categories—buildings + halls + chairs + professorships + scholarships:

• Lee Shau Kee Student Residence Village: With over 2,000 bed spaces, this is the "world's largest modular student residence" in Ma On Shan, Whitehead. The opening and naming ceremony was held on 11 December 2024, naming it after Dr Lee Shau-kee, founder of Henderson Land Group^※. Dr Lee had made a major donation in 2018 through the Lee Shau Kee Foundation to support CityU's long-term development; his prior generosity had already funded two named chair professorships, one named professorship, and multiple scholarships^※.
• On-Campus Hall 6, "Lee Shau Kee Hall": A hall in the main Cornwall Street residence cluster is also named after Lee Shau Kee^※ (a different building from the Whitehead "Lee Shau Kee Student Residence Village," though both are named after him).
• Named Chairs: According to the official donor page, the chairs named after Lee Shau Kee are the "Lee Shau Kee Chair Professorship in Information Engineering," the "Lee Shau Kee Chair Professorship in Materials Science," and the "Lee Shau Kee Professorship in Electronic Learning."^※ Based on the incumbent directory, the "Lee Shau Kee Chair Professorship in Information Engineering" is held by Professor Ma Wei-ying, and the "Lee Shau Kee Chair Professorship in Materials Science" is held by Professor Alex Jen^※. Lee Shau-kee once captured his giving philosophy with the maxim: "Philanthropy should create leverage, amplifying outcomes with small forces."^※.
• Amount: The exact amount of the 2018 "major donation" was not disclosed in the official press release; no official public figure is available.

# 3.2 Institutional and Individual Named Halls (On-Campus, Cornwall Street, Hall 1–11)

According to the Student Residence Office webpages^※, many halls in the on-campus cluster are named after donating organisations or benefactors (some Chinese names are conventional translations; please defer to official University sources for the exact official Chinese name):

The individual donation amounts for each named residence hall are not available as official public figures. For some halls (e.g., Hall 10, Hall 11), the exact official English and Chinese name or naming origin is marked "to be confirmed," subject to the University's current webpages (see the for full details).

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# IV. Named College / Academic Unit Benefactors

# 4.1 Dr Chow Yei-ching — Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies

CityU's School of Graduate Studies is named the "Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies" in honour of Dr Chow Yei-ching. The University issued a naming press release on 12 April 2007, in which the then-President, Professor H K Chang, described Dr Chow's donation as "the largest donation in the history of CityU," and the University named the school after him in recognition of his support for postgraduate academic activities and the school's development^※. The exact amount of this donation was described in the press release as "the largest donation in the history of CityU" but no specific figure was stated; no official public figure is available.

# 4.2 The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust — Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences + One Health Tower + Veterinary Chair

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust is CityU's largest naming donor by single-contribution amount:

• HK$500 Million Donation + Jockey Club One Health Tower: On 21 November 2017, CityU received a HK$500 million donation from the Jockey Club Charities Trust for the construction of the "Jockey Club One Health Tower" to house Hong Kong's first School of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences. This was the largest single donation received by CityU in its 33-year history to that date^※.
• Named College: In August 2018, in appreciation of the generous support of the Jockey Club Charities Trust, the CityU College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences was named the "Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences."^※
• Subsequent Donations (as per financial reports): In the 2024/25 financial year, CityU received HK$99,164,000 from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for the construction of the Jockey Club One Health Tower and four social service programmes^※ (compared to HK$63,894,000 in the corresponding period of the previous year^※), making it the largest single source of donations for that year.

Note on discrepancies in building specifications: The CityU press release from 2017 recorded the One Health Tower as a 12-storey building with a floor area of approximately 16,500 square metres, originally scheduled for completion in late 2022^※. Subsequent media/industry sources record it as 15 storeys with a floor area exceeding 24,000 square metres, expected to be completed in late 2025^※—likely due to design or reporting adjustments. This database records both accounts in parallel without adjudication, deferring to the University's final completed-project data. The Jockey Club has also named three on-campus residence halls (Hall 1/4/7, see 3.2).

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# V. Master List of Named Chair Professorship Benefactors (per official directory)

The following donors and corresponding chairs under CityU's "Named Chair Professorship Scheme" are compiled from the official donor pages^※ and the incumbent directory^※. (The endowment amounts for establishing each chair have not been disclosed by the University; no official public figures are available. Current incumbents recorded below are living, non-senior-management scholars, listed factually from the official website.)

Note: The "Current Incumbent" column lists only scholars publicly named on the official website's incumbent directory. A dash "—" indicates that the position either has no current incumbent listed on the official website or is in the process of recruitment. Some Chinese titles for the chairs are conventional translations of the English name; the official Chinese name as shown on the CityU Named Professorship page shall be definitive. Chinese name renderings (e.g., "周德豐", "黃秦東", "陳漢斌", "黃震鴻") are transliterations or conventional forms from the English; exact official Chinese names are subject to verification on the University webpage.

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# VI. Key Takeaways at a Glance

1. Largest Single Naming Gift: The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust's HK$500 million donation (2017) used to build the Jockey Club One Health Tower and name the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences—the largest single donation since CityU's founding.
2. King of Cross-Category Naming: Lee Shau-kee spans "Whitehead Student Residence Village + on-campus Hall 6 + three named chairs + a named professorship + scholarships." Yeung Kin-man spans "core academic building + five named chairs."
3. Landmark Naming: Sir Run Run Shaw / The Shaw Foundation—HK$100 million in 2010 (Creative Media Centre) + Library naming in 1990; the Libeskind crystal is CityU's visual signature.
4. Named Schools: Chow Yei-ching (School of Graduate Studies, 2007, described as "largest donation in the history of CityU" but the figure was not stated); The Jockey Club (College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, 2018).
5. Family Foundations: Herman Hu / Ryoden Development (sports centre + three Hu family chairs); William Mong / Shun Hing (Mong Man-wai Building + two Shun Hing chairs, with the Shun Hing Fund giving over HK$1.3 billion cumulatively).
6. Disclosure of Amounts: CityU does not disclose individual amounts for the vast majority of naming gifts; this entry marks "no official public figure available" wherever no official number has been released. Consult the Finance Office's annual reports and official press releases for verified figures.
7. Distinguishing Names: Hall 9 "Sir Gordon and Lady Ivy Wu Hall" (Hopewell's Sir Gordon Wu) is different from the Hu Fa-kuang / Herman Hu (Ryoden Development) family and should not be confused.

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# VII. Unverified & To Be Confirmed

• Individual donation amounts for most naming gifts: CityU generally does not disclose amounts for individual namings (Yeung Kin Man Building, Lau Ming Wai Building, Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Building, Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, all named chairs, all named residence halls). This entry marks this truthfully as "no official public figure available."
• Official Chinese names for named chairs: Some chairs are only found with their official English name. Chinese renderings here are conventional translations; the exact official Chinese names are subject to verification on the University's Named Professorship Scheme page.
• Naming origin of To Yuen Building: Whether it is functional or donor-based is unverified.
• Final storeys/area of the Jockey Club One Health Tower: Different sources (12 storeys / 16,500 sqm vs 15 storeys / 24,000 sqm) provide conflicting records. Defer to the University's final completed-project data.
• Naming origin of On-Campus Hall 10 / Hall 11: The current University pages mark this as "to be confirmed."

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