Our donors

The University of Birmingham was built on philanthropy 120 years ago. Today’s philanthropists continue to work with the University to change young lives and to improve the world for future generations. We are enormously grateful to our Founding Donors for helping us to launch the Foundation. Thank you.

Recognising your generosity

Our global recognition circles express our gratitude and acknowledge the impact of those who are making especially significant gifts to the University and to the Foundation. In addition, all donors will have the opportunity to be listed on our website and receive the Foundation’s annual report and accounts.

The Chancellor's Guild of Benefactors

Chancellor's Guild of Benefactors logoThe Chancellor’s Guild of Benefactors honours those that have made gifts of over £1 million. These exceptionally generous supporters are offered the opportunity to have their name engraved in the marble at the entrance to the Great Hall, beneath the list of the University’s founders, and to publicly enrol at the degree congregations.

The symbol for the Chancellor’s Guild of Benefactors has been derived from the ceremonial key used by King Edward VII to officially open the University in 1909.

Chamberlain Circle

Chamberlain Circle logoThe Chamberlain Circle celebrates those who have given between £100,000 and £1 million. Around 50 current members have supported projects from the creation of the new library to student scholarships. Members meet biennially, with members of the Chancellor’s Guild of Benefactors, for an exclusive, prestigious reception and dinner hosted by the Chancellor, Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea and Vice-Chancellor.

The symbol for the Chamberlain Circle has been derived from the ornate ceiling in the Aston Webb Building on campus.

Birmingham Medical School and the Wong-Tsang family

The connections of the Wong-Tsang family to the University go back more than 50 years, when Dr Yat Kwong (YK) Wong (MBChB Medicine, 1965; MD Medicine, 1973) became the first of 10 family members to study medicine at Birmingham.

The role Birmingham Medical School has played in the careers of YK, brothers Yat-Sun, Yat Kiu (Buddy), David and YK’s son Alexander and daughter Patricia was reflected in the family’s recent gift to the Hong Kong Foundation.

The donation honours YK’s parents, as his father was responsible for setting him on his career path as a doctor, after sending him to the UK for his education.

He explains: ‘My father was a merchant, who had business connections with companies in Europe. As a father of eight children, he often had to call upon the services of doctors when any of the children were sick. At that time, there were few Western-trained doctors in Hong Kong.’

YK was sent to the UK when he was only 12, taking a month-long boat trip via the Suez Canal with his older brother Jack and guardian. His travels then took him from a boarding school in Wales to the independent Quaker school Leighton Park, in Reading, from where he would start his long dreamed of medical degree at Birmingham.

YK would spend time on rotation working at various hospitals in the region, including the old Birmingham Children’s Hospital in Ladywood, which kick-started his career as a paediatrician.

YK’s brother Buddy would go on to become an ear, nose and throat surgeon and acknowledges the importance of YK blazing a trail for the family, saying: ‘It was very difficult to get into medical school in those days, but because YK had already earned his place it felt more achievable.

‘To receive an offer from a medical school is a prize to be treasured and my time at Birmingham was very much my “formative years”.’

Both agree that their studies involved plenty of hard work – requiring a prompt arrival at the Medical School Library at 8am to make sure they had access to the limited number of books.

Nevertheless, the nature of the course meant that close friendships were formed. Buddy adds: ‘The work was often a hard slog, but I still have friends with whom I am in touch. We were organising our 50th anniversary reunion for last summer, but the pandemic forced us to postpone it.’

While the four brothers all studied at the University in quick succession, YK put no pressure on his children to follow in his footsteps, saying: ‘They simply came to have a look at the campus. Both decided they liked it, and so they applied – and they have stayed in the UK ever since, to make their careers.’

The family’s generous gift to the Foundation is commemorated with an engraved plaque honouring their parents. The plaque was installed next to a Tilia Tomentosa (silver lime) tree in the Green Heart, near the new library. YK chose the tree to reflect his love of Der Lindenbaum (The Linden Tree) by 19th-century composer Franz Schubert. Linden trees are commonly called lime trees in the UK and he adds: ‘Lime trees are not native to Hong Kong but have beautiful flowers. It felt like a good way to pay my respects to my parents.’

Honouring Dr Lihou

Byung Won Park and Dr David Lihou outside the School of Chemical EngineeringByung Won Park’s gift towards the University’s Collaborative Teaching Laboratory reflects the positive effect on his career from one Birmingham lecturer.

Hong Kong based alumnus Byung Won Park (BSc Chemical Engineering, 1971) remembers his time at Birmingham fondly and the impact Dr David Lihou (BSc Chemical Engineering, 1960; PhD Chemical Engineering, 1963), a former lecturer in Chemical Engineering made on him.

Mr Park chose to honour Dr Lihou by making a generous donation towards the Collaborative Teaching Laboratory, which opened in October 2018.

‘I will always appreciate what Dr Lihou did for me,’ he says. ‘He tutored and guided me, but most importantly he helped me to grow my confidence. One memory that sticks with me is being invited on a weekend canoeing trip, which meant a lot as I was far from home. I feel very fortunate and proud to be able to recognise him in this way.’

Mr Park also made an important contribution to the fight against the pandemic in 2020, as his company Modern Genomic Services Ltd. repurposed its laboratories to run COVID-19 tests for the Hong Kong government. He has been in the consumer products quality control industry for more than 40 years and attributes his success to his engineering education at Birmingham.

He returned to campus in 2017 for a reunion with his friends of more than 50 years, who he met while studying in Birmingham. The group also had a very special reunion with Dr Lihou, who says: ‘I really enjoyed teaching and helping students to succeed. It was such a surprise to be honoured in this way and was so nice to see Byung again.’

Chamberlain Circle donors (HK $1M+)

Dr IR Conrad Wong, BBS, JP (MSc [Eng] Foundation Engineering, 1988) Vice-Chairman, Yau Lee Holdings Ltd

Mr Byung Won Park (BSc Chemical Engineering, 1971) Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Modern Genomic Services Ltd

The Wong-Tsang family:
Dr YK Wong (MBChB Medicine, 1965; MD, 1973)

Dr Buddy Wong (MBChB Medicine, 1970; MSc Health and Hospital Management, 1998)

Dr David Wong (MBChB Medicine, 1976)

Donors HK $100,000+

Dr Jason Brockwell (MBChB Medicine, 1989) Orthopaedic Surgeon, Asia Medical Specialists

Mr Pont Shun Kong Chiu (BCom Accounting, 1982) General Manager (Risk Management and Internal Audit), Sino Land Company Ltd

Mr Raphael WC Ding (BCom Accounting, 1982) Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Greenheart Group Ltd

Mr Christopher Hooley (LLB Law, 1976) Partner, Hugill and Ip Solicitors

Mr Stephen Law (BSc Civil Engineering, 1984) Managing Director, ANS Capital Ltd

Dr Gabriel Leung (BSc Electronic and Electrical Engineering, 1982) Managing Director, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Ms Anna Lin (MBA Industrial Economics and Business Studies, 1988) Chief Executive Officer, GS1 Hong Kong

Dr Guy Look (BCom Industrial Economics and Business Studies, 1979; DUniv 2013)

Mr Adrian Mak (BSc Chemical Engineering, 1983) Chief Financial Officer, Television Broadcasts Ltd

The Honourable Mr Justice Robert C. Tang (LLB Law, 1969) NPJ, GBM, SBS, QC, SC, JP

Mr Edward To and Mrs Wendy To (MBA Industrial Economics and Business Studies, 1988) Chief Financial Officer, Top Ease (HK) Ltd; General Manager and Head of International Division, The Bank of East Asia Ltd

Prof Amy Bik-May Tsui (PhD Linguistics, 1986) Professor Emerita, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong

Hon Frankie Ching-Ming Yick, SBS, JP (MSc Industrial Management, 1980) Member (Transport Functional Constituency), LEGCO

Mr Arthur Yung (BSc Civil Engineering, 1980) Managing Director at Arthur Yung and Associates

Donors

Chi Kuen Chan (MBA Public Service, 2001)

William Cheng (BCom Accounting, 1982)

Kai Ho Law (MSc Marketing, 2007)

Joey Lee (BSc Accounting and Finance, 2004; MSc Accounting and Finance, 2005)

Pat Wah Patrick Lim (BCom Accounting and Finance, 1982)

Carrie Ka Yuk Lin (BSc Mathematics, 1986; PhD Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering, 1995)

Wang Kwan Lu (LLB Law, 1988)

Celeste Luk (LLB Law, 2007)

Eva Luk (BSc Mathematics and Computer Science, 1982)

Kwok Leung Mak (BSc Mechanical Engineering, 1982)

Sau Ching Tsoi (MBA, 1988)

Chang Yun Hung Wanda (MSc Health and Hospital Management, 2000)

Frances Chi Nam Wang (MBA, 2012)
In fond memory of Mr William Ka Sze Wan.

Ignatius Wong (LLB Law, 1964)

Sammy Hip Sang Wong (BSc Mechanical Engineering, 1983)

Kwok Hing Woo (LLB Law, 1968)

Cheun Hon Yau (MEng&Man Mechanical Engineering, Manufacture and Management, 1993)

Wai Kei Yeung (BSc Computer Studies, 1986)

Edmund Ka Sun Young (BSc Civil Engineering, 1962; MSc Civil Engineering, 1963)