April 6, 2017, by Tim Utton
Building honour celebrates love, loyalty and impact on education
The Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham and his wife have been honoured in China with a building dedication.
At a ceremony attended by Cheng Yuechong, Vice-Governor of Zhejiang Province in eastern China, The Ningbo Nottingham International Academy for Marine Economy and Technology (IAMET) building was officially named after Sir David and Lady Susan Greenaway.
The dedication comes ahead of the Vice-Chancellor’s retirement in September and is one of a number of planned celebrations of his impact in education during his 30-year career in Nottingham.
Mr Cheng said: “Since the beginning of his leadership as Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham UK, Sir David has been making full efforts for the growth of UNNC, a Sino-foreign university with cooperation between University of Nottingham UK and Zhejiang Wanli Education Group. He made it – now UNNC is standing on a new platform for future development.
“Every year Sir David came to UNNC in person several times and was dedicated to the university’s operations. I worked in Ningbo at that time and had many opportunities to exchange thoughts and ideas with Sir David and we established ever-lasting friendship.
“On Sir David, I see an academic’s preciseness, a senior’s elegance, and an intellectual’s wisdom. If you took photos of Sir David in different occasions, and put images of his thinking, listening and speaking together, you can see a respectable economist, educator and social activist. I respect and admire him.
“To express gratitude to Sir David for his great contributions to UNNC, a naming proposal was raised by Mme Xu Yafen and discussed by the University. This building will be named after Sir David and Lady Susan Greenaway. I believe that this is the best award and I express my warmest congratulations to Sir David and Lady Susan.”
Introducing Sir David to the audience of distinguished guests Professor Chris Rudd, Provost of The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) recalled his appointment to VC at a time when the Chinese campus was only three years old.
He said: “Sir David brought an incredible range of ingredients to Sino-UK relations. His discipline expertise as an expert in international trade, his leadership skills, his energy and focus, his warmth of personality and his skill in building and maintaining relationships.
“But of course, he also brought Lady Susan, who not only provides immense loyalty and a loving family but also a vigorous advocate for Nottingham and practical support with her love of creative arts – painting, sculpture and literature.”
Professor Rudd paid tribute to Lady Susan’s work in training school teachers in the UK, in special educational needs, in literacy and more recently in Fine Art with recent exhibitions in several UK cities.
He added: “With David and Susan’s partnership, I would suggest to everyone that Nottingham benefited immensely. The past 9 years has marked huge success here at UNNC as well as objective progress for the institution globally. They have brought warmth, humanity and success to the University. I present to you, the Sir David and Lady Susan Greenaway building as a fitting reminder of their lasting contributions to our campus and this city.”
The IAMET building marks a partnership between The University of Nottingham, Wanli Education Group and Ningbo Municipal Government. The Academy will build on Ningbo’s already strong reputation for marine-related activities and support the city’s 12-year plan, a major focus of which is the marine economy.
Sir David was appointed to the University as a Professor of Economics in 1987 and was subsequently a Dean, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and founding director of the Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy. He was a member of the Government’s Asia Task Force and Higher Education Task Force.
He is also chair of the CASE Europe Board of Trustees, chair of the Russell Group of Universities, and a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.
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