On March 4, 2025, Professor Anna Pao Sohmen (MSW ’69) was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by McGill University, at a special ceremony held at the Casa Bauhinia in Ningbo, providing the opportunity to celebrate her remarkable life and career. The event was a significant moment in McGill University's 204-year history, since it was the first time it had staged such a ceremony outside its Montreal campus.
Mrs. Carrie Lam, the former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR; Andreas Riecken, the Austrian Ambassador to Beijing; Helmut Rakowitsch, the Consul General of Austria in Shanghai; Marc Weinstein, the Consul General of Canada in Shanghai; and representatives from YK Pao School, as well as from government, business, and education sectors in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Ningbo gathered to witness and congratulate Professor Anna Pao Sohmen on receiving the award.
“McGill University is honored to award Professor Anna Pao Sohmen an honorary Doctorate, the highest honor of our institution, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to education, the arts, and the promotion of social equity,” said McGill University President Mr. Deep Saini in his opening remarks. “As an exceptional McGill alumna, her life and achievements embody the transformative power of education and social service, inspiring every member of our university.”
Subsequently, Professor Anja Geitmann, Vice President of Global Engagement at McGill University, formally awarded Professor Anna Pao Sohmen an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. She praised Professor Anna Pao Sohmen for her contributions to society. “McGill University awards this honorary degree to Professor Anna Pao Sohmen with the highest respect,” she said. “What McGill University grants is not just a degree, but also an acknowledgment of Professor Anna Pao Sohmen's spirit of daring, pioneering, and taking responsibility.”
Professor Anna Pao Sohmen sincerely thanked the guests present and fondly reminisced about her time as a student at McGill University and early life. “Today, the honorary degree I receive is a recognition of all those of you who have lit my way, held my hands, shared my burdens and given me encouragement along the way,” she said. “I hope today is an opportunity to connect with each other, breaking down the walls of understanding created by negative headlines. Through finding our common ground in knowledge, we can seek mutually beneficial cooperation. We need to rise above rivalry and disagree without hostility. We share a common responsibility, and that is world peace.”
Serving Society Through Education and Charity
Professor Anna Pao Sohmen is a successful business person, philanthropist and educator whose contributions have had a lasting impact on education and the arts to communities in Hong Kong and beyond. Her lifelong commitment to enhancing access to education and addressing social issues has defined her distinguished career. She is widely recognized for founding educational institutions, supporting the arts, and leading philanthropic initiatives aimed at empowering underprivileged youth and communities. She has been an advocate for small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting equal pay for women in Hong Kong, and addressing environmental challenges, among contributions to many other social causes.
Professor Anna Pao Sohmen reads to children in the Primary School library
In the mid-1960s, Professor Anna Pao Sohmen left Hong Kong to further her education. After completing a bachelor’s degree at Purdue University in 1966, she pursued graduate studies at the University of Chicago. It was there that she met her future husband, Helmut Sohmen. Together, they moved to Montreal, where she earned a Master of Social Work degree from McGill in 1969. Subsequently, she taught child psychology and social work at Hong Kong University.
From left to right: Executive Deputy Chairman Philip Sohmen, Chairman Professor Anna Pao Sohmen, and Deputy Chairman Tan Fuyun
In 2002, she established the YK Pao Education Foundation to support overseas postgraduate students at Ningbo University and various institutions across China. In 2007, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, she, along with her son Philip Sohmen and Ms. Tan Fuyun, founded the YK Pao School in Shanghai. As the Council Chairman of Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, she helped build the academy’s schools of film, television, technical arts and Chinese opera, while also establishing both bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes. She also restored, Bethanie, a 19th-century French sanatorium in Hong Kong, and turned it into the Academy’s film school.
Throughout her career, Professor Anna Pao Sohmen has made significant contributions to the economic development of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, and Ningbo, earning recognition across China as a visionary supporter of education and the arts. She has devoted her life to education, culture, the arts, and social philanthropy, actively serving as a bridge to promote sustainable societal development. Her efforts have garnered widespread acclaim from all sectors of Chinese society.
