Saint Mary’s University will bestow honorary doctorates on three educators with connections to the university community—Mingyuan Zhang, Ailan Fu and David Lane—at the 2024 Winter Convocation.
Mingyuan Zhang
Dr. Mingyuan Zhang
Dr. Zhang has an exceptional record as a scholar of Chinese language culture and folklore. Holding a Doctorate in Chinese folklore from Beijing Normal University, Beijing, Dr. Zhang has had a distinguished academic career as a Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Renmin University, as Dean of Arts at Hong Kong Shue Yan University and most recently, and since 2004, as Dean of the School of Chinese at BNUZ.
Particularly in his role as Dean of the School of Chinese, Dr. Zhang has established the study of Chinese language and culture, including in partnership with Saint Mary’s University. His quiet, behind-the-scenes leadership has provided a supportive environment for many Saint Mary’s students, staff and faculty participating in the partnership between SMU and BNUZ. His service to the values of Saint Mary’s, and particularly to intercultural learning, makes him worthy of an honorary degree.
Dr. Zhang will receive a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, on January 27, 2024.
Ailan Fu
Dr. Ailan Fu
Dr. Fu is a notable academic leader and administrator. In addition to her academic appointments as Professor of Linguistics at Central University for Nationalities, and then at BNUZ, Dr. Fu has led global engagement for BNUZ and the partnership with Saint Mary’s University. This has resulted in the exchange of students, faculty and staff between our universities over the past two decades. Dr. Fu is a well-recognized scholar in linguistics and has held visiting appointments at SMU, Hong Kong Baptist University, and the University of Texas.
Dr. Fu’s service to the community includes her work as a scholar and academic administrator at BNUZ but extends also locally to her work as counsellor on the city of Zhuhai Municipal Council. Her work for the city of Zhuhai led to the creation of the sister-city relationship between Zhuhai and the Halifax Regional Municipality. Her focus on international education and connection demonstrates Dr. Fu’s commitment to intercultural learning, a key value for Saint Mary’s University.
Dr. Fu will receive a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, on January 27, 2024.
David Lane
David Lane
Tens of thousands of Saint Mary’s University students and members of the public have experienced the wonders of the night sky at the Burke-Gaffney Observatory due to the efforts of one man, David Lane, who, for nearly thirty years, has been quietly inspiring generations of children, parents, students, and teachers.
From 1992 until his retirement, Mr. Lane was employed as the Astronomy Technician and System Administrator in the Astronomy and Physics Department. Later, as Director of the Burke-Gaffney Observatory, David single-handedly automated the Observatory and made it available to the world through Twitter and Facebook. He has made significant contributions to teaching and learning at Saint Mary’s and created The Earth Centered Universe (ECU), an easy-to-use planetarium and telescope-control program, allowing institutes the ability to operate their own educational astronomy platforms for teaching astronomy.
He has also made many impressive contributions to professional astronomy, with more than 100 professional publications in the field of variable stars and telescope operations. He has been a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) since the 1980s and served as president of the National Chapter and the Halifax Chapter. He was recognized by the International Astronomy Union for the co-discovery of three supernovae and has an asteroid named after him!
David Lane will receive a Doctor of Science, honoris causa, on January 27, 2024.
Convocation ceremonies will be live-streamed on smu.ca on January 26 and 27. Check our website for ceremony details.