JMSC Receives $32 Million Donation From Shum Family

The Journalism and Media Studies Centre (JMSC) has received a donation of HK$ 32.1 million from its longtime benefactor, the late Mrs Lee Shum Shuk Yuen. 

JMSC Director Professor Ruby Yang announced the donation during the JMSC’s 25th anniversary celebration on Saturday, June 8. 

“We truly appreciate the generous gift that would provide scholarships to deserving students who would otherwise be unable to afford tuition fees for journalism studies in Hong Kong,” Professor Yang said. 

“We are honoured to be part of Ms Shum’s legacy,” said Professor Xiang Zhang, HKU President and Vice-Chancellor. “Her significant gift offers nothing short of life-changing opportunities for future generations that lack the required financial resources to pursue their journalism and media studies.”

The gift bequeathed by Mrs Lee is the largest donation the JMSC has ever received. It would be equally divided between two endowment funds — the Lee Kam Woon and Shum Shuk Yuen Education Fund and the Shum Wai Yau Journalism Education Fund — to finance scholarships for students in perpetuity. 

The two funds, created by Mrs Lee’s donation, were launched in 2007.   

Mrs Lee was the sister of the late Mr Shum Choi-sang, publisher of the now defunct Wah Kiu Yat Po newspaper. The Shum family has generously donated to various JMSC programmes and initiatives, including the Shum Wai Yau Reading Room in Eliot Hall, a heritage building on campus.