Winter Issue, 2010

61 Professor Leong Che-kan 梁子勤 (BA(Hons)1957; MA 1965) Myrna Poon Siou See-mun 潘蕭師敏 (BA 1965) Myrna, a retired social worker, has turned sorrow into might. In her new book, Stepping Out of Sorrow , she chronicles her journey through the loss of a loved one after the death of her husband Dr Peter Poon Yui-chee 潘睿智 (MBBS 1966), who was head of Diagnostic Imaging at the British Columbia Cancer Agency ‘s Vancouver Centre 1992–2000. “As a professionally trained social worker, I feel that I should share my personal experience from a social work perspective to help and support others experiencing the same.” - Myrna Poon www.myrnapoon.com Professor Leong is currently Research Professor Emeritus, Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, University of Saskatchewan, Canada and Honorary Professor of Educational Psychology, CUHK. A veteran in educational psychology and special education, a Board member of the International Dyslexia Association for over ten years, and editorial board member for a number of research journals in reading and literacy, Professor Leong Lau Kwok-ching 劉國楨 (BA 1937) Mr Lau, a 95-year-old graduate, resided at May Hall Room 12 when he studied at HKU. He is fond of sports, having played badminton for over 50 years and was a member of a basketball team. Mr Lau devoted much of his time to education by joining the Education Department. He was the first Chinese Senior Principal in Hong Kong, and was Principal of Victoria Government School and Kowloon Technical School. Lau retired in 1970 and remained in Hong Kong. Accompanying him on his return to the HKU campus were Dr John Lau 劉偉華 (BA 1985; MA 1987; PCEd 1990; MEd 2005; EdD 2010), Education Officer of Kowloon Technical School, and Doris Mak 麥麗瓊 (BA 1972; CertEd 1978) who was a school principal before her retirement. admits that his first love is English literature. He owes much to his English teachers at HKU, in particular Chair Professor Edmund Blunden, Professors Alan Green, Renaldo Oblitas, Mary Visick and Alec Hardie. Professor Leong remembers at the time classes were small and students were invited by teachers to their homes on University Drive to enjoy tea or sherry while reading papers. Even in his technical “retirement” in 1998, Professor Leong continues to contribute his expertise in special education. He works closely with the Hong Kong Society of Child Neurology and Developmental Paediatrics under the leadership of Dr Chan Chok-wan 陳作耘 (MBBS 1971) and Dr Catherine Lam 藍芷芊 (MBBS 1978), both paediatricians and HKU alumni, to promote research and good practice in dyslexia and advocacy for these individuals and their families. A frequent visitor to HKU, he collaborates with Professor Tse Shek-kam 謝錫金 (BA 1972; MPhil 1978), HKU Faculty of Education, and his team to conduct research on Chinese reading literacy and also works with colleagues in Psychology and Linguistics at HKU and CUHK.