Supporting excellence in education
The Yew Chung Education Foundation honours Bath Emeritus Professor Jeff Thompson with a £1 million gift.
“Pioneering a new approach to education is never easy,” says Dr Betty Chan Po-King, Chair of the non profit Yew Chung Education Foundation, “as one inevitably challenges the existing paradigms. It can be a lonely journey.”
Betty has challenged the status quo with her approach to Early Childhood Education and International Education. As CEO of the extensive network of Yew Chung and Yew Wah international schools, she has developed a distinctive bilingual (Chinese and English) and co-cultural (East and West) educational philosophy, pedagogy and leadership model.
Over the years, Betty found kinship with a fellow innovator in the field – a friend and colleague who shares her passion for developing new and impactful approaches to nurturing future leaders. “I feel incredibly blessed to know Jeff as a dear colleague and friend,” she says, speaking of Emeritus Professor Jeff Thompson CBE.
In honour of their longstanding collaboration, the Yew Chung Education Foundation has made a £1 million endowment and a £55,000 gift to fund an academic post in our Department of Education. The endowed donation will provide a permanent source of income to fund the position, which will have a focus on International Education and be named The Yew Chung Jeff Thompson Lectureship/Senior Lectureship.
"This generous gift acknowledges the long-standing links between two major contributors to the developing field of International Education"
Jeff joined Bath in 1979 where he’s held numerous senior leadership roles and spearheaded the international dimension of the MA in Education and the University’s first professional doctorate, the Doctor of Education.
During his distinguished career, Jeff has also been centrally involved in many innovations both nationally and internationally, notably the development of the national curriculum in the 1980s, and the International Baccalaureate from the early 1970s onwards.
“His world-class scholarship speaks for itself,” adds Betty, “but it is his deep passion and enduring commitment to promoting progressive International Education that has revolutionised the field, and given educators like myself a voice on the global stage, as well as a like-minded community.”
Betty’s links to Bath have endured for nearly 30 years. Department of Education academics have been keynote speakers at international conferences that Betty has hosted, and she has supported Yew Chung teachers and leaders to study on Bath’s MA in Education programme.
Dr Mary Hayden is Professor of International Education at the University and gave the orations for both Betty and Jeff at their honorary degree ceremonies in 2015 and 2014 respectively. “This generous gift acknowledges the long-standing links between two major contributors to the developing field of International Education,” says Mary.
“We are grateful to Dr Chan and the Yew Chung Education Foundation for recognising in this way the seminal contribution that Jeff has made to the field, and to relationships with valued colleagues worldwide.”
Jeff adds: “I am delighted with this wonderful award, which is testament to the collaboration we – and colleagues from both our organisations – have shared for many years. I look forward to the continuing strengthening of our shared endeavours in International Education that this generous gift will help to support in future.”
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