President Chopp, Fellow Colgate Belongers and Friends,

Fifty-one years ago, on that sunny Graduation Day on June 11, 1956, when all the smiles and elation had abated, I remembered an old Chinese proverb : huh shwei, suh yuan  ( 飲 水 思 源 ) – literally, “Drink water; consider source”.

In other words, “After you have drunk water, don’t forget the well that gave it to you”.  This saying has particular meaning for me, reflecting as it does the philosophy of my grandfather – Robert Ho Tung – who, through his own hard work and the inspiration of a dedicated teacher, transcended his modest beginnings to become Sir Robert Ho Tung.  Knighted twice, once by King George the Fifth of England, and the other by the present Queen Elizabeth II, my grandfather, throughout his long life, was equally active as a businessman and as a philanthropist in what was then the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong.

Grandfather taught us that we must never take our family’s good fortune for granted.  His motto, repeated often to his children and grandchildren, was : “Before you can receive, you must learn how to give”.  In a sense, therefore the Ho Science Center is as much a memorial to my grandfather and his precepts as it is a gift to Colgate University.  His words echoed in my mind on that long-ago graduation day when I asked myself:

“Now that Colgate has given this student from Hong Kong an excellent education, valuable practical knowledge, and a taste of American life, what can I give back to my school?”

That question has remained with me , and over the years, I have gladly done what I could to support Colgate.  Then, in 2003, President Rebecca Chopp came to me with a bold prediction and a far-sighted proposal.  Her prediction: that advances in science will predominate in the 21st century – not only in academia but in the world.  Her proposal: the establishment of a world-class interdisciplinary science facility at Colgate University.

She convinced me.

Standing around me is the result …… the realisation of President Chopp’s vision, and a structure whose magnificent design owes many of its best features to the invaluable participation of the late-and sadly missed-Professor Charlie McClennen.

The science center incorporates the best ideas of all the disciplines it will house, and is capped by a dome so high-tech that it has its own computer programs built into it.  At over 100,000 square feet, it is three times larger than any other academic building on campus.  It has a Class 10,000 clean-room for nanotechnology research;  a five-chamber greenhouse;  and it houses five interdisciplinary science departments, together with offices, classrooms and a 90-seat lecture hall.  It also has 7 teaching labs and 40 research laboratories – many so technologically sophisticated that they will no doubt make other liberal arts colleges very envious.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honoured indeed that Colgate’s new science center bears my family name.  However, the building is just that:  only a building …… made of bricks and mortar.  The building – and even the cutting-edge scientific equipment it contains – are, alas, the sort of things that in our fast-moving world can become obsolete in a relatively short time.  So, although I have delivered the bricks and mortar to Colgate, I believe the real gift – the most enduring gift – is the use to which the faculty and students of Colgate will put this new building.

President Chopp, fellow Colgate belongers and friends, it is my hope that our new science center will provide a valuable learning environment for Colgate students as they explore the ever-growing challenges modern science presents – an environment ideally suited to advance knowledge in theory and research as well as in practical application.  I am confident that the progress they make in these endeavors, and the benefits society gains from their progress, will endure for many years into the future.

I am proud and happy to make my contribution to that progress.

Huh shwei, suh yuan  ( 飲 水 思 源 )

I drank water and I remember its source.