David S. H. Chu, international entrepreneur and friend of The University of Western Ontario, died Wednesday, Aug. 10 in Hong Kong. Western’s International Student Centre is named for Chu, patriarch of a family that continues a proud relationship with the university.
“Our sincerest condolences go out to Dr. Chu’s family and friends at this time of loss,” says Western President Amit Chakma. “The Chu family are great friends of our university and their philanthropy is making a difference in the lives of students from China and around the world who choose to pursue their education at Western. We hope David’s family will take some comfort during this difficult time in knowing that his name and the legacy of his family’s remarkable generosity will live for generations on our campus.”
On Oct. 16, 2009, Western officially opened the Dr. David S. H. Chu International Student Centre, a new hub at the heart of campus bringing students together from around the world to share ideas, culture and inspiration. Made possible by a $2-million donation from the Chu family, the centre opened its doors just as Western started setting its sights on increasing international student enrolment under the leadership of Chakma.
In addition to the centre, the Chu family gift also created a number of academic awards and a graduate public administration program in China. That program is a non-credit enrichment experience for local government officials and students at selected Chinese universities. The series of lectures, workshops and visits to Canada involved in the program were developed and delivered by Western professors from the Local Government Program of the Department of Political Science in Western’s Faculty of Social Science.
Chu once resided in Don Mills, Ontario, Canada, but resided in Hong Kong at the time of his death.
He started his working life as a bench hand in a paper mill. In 1993, he joined with two Asian businessmen (Suaphan Ngamjitsuksri and Elmer Yuen) to build the Mission Hills Golf Club and associated facilities at a cost of $1.6 billion. In 1997, he received an LLD from the University of Toronto.
The Mission Hills Group, the world’s largest golf complex, features 12 championship courses, a convention and exhibition centre, hotels, a commercial complex, tennis and golf academies, and a residential community, earning it the informal title as the ‘Beverly Hills of China’.
Mission Hills is a frequent sponsor of alumni events in Hong Kong.
Though not a graduate of Western, two of Chu’s six children attended the university – Ken Chu (BA’96, LLD’07) is vice-chairman of Mission Hills Group, and Carol Chu (BA, ACS ’94) is executive director at Mission Hills Group.