UVic Chancellor lauded for service

 The investiture over the weekend of University of Victoria chancellor Ron Lou Poy as a member of the Order of Canada was the latest in a series of honours for the Victoria lawyer.
    Lou Poy was one of 46 recipients, including singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, honoured by Governor General Adrienne Clark at a Rideau Hall ceremony on Saturday.
    The third-generation Victorian, a graduate of Victoria College ( the forerunner of UVic ), has been named to the elite order earlier this year for his "voluntary service" to the community.
    It was a crowning achievement for a man whose grandfather arrived in the 1890's from China and eked out an existence selling silk in the city before turning to farming. HIs parents - neither of whom completed high school - faced discrimination, which limited their opportunities. Elementary schools, for example were segregated in their day.
    UVic's newspaper, The Ring, reported last year that Lou Poy's father fought against a Victoria school board policy, later overturned, against buying produce from Chinese farmers.

The citation issued by the governor general's office says, "Lou-Poy exemplifies the adage that to give to one's community is both a responsibility and a privilege."
    The citation praises him for his support of the Chinese Heritage Foundation, Crime Stoppers, The Victoria Police Board, the Kiwanis and the McPherson Foundation.
    He is a senior partner with Crease Harman & Company, the oldest law firm in the province, which he joined in 1960 after earning a law degree from the University of B.C.
    After serving two terms on UVic's board of governors in the 1970's and early 1990's, he was named the university's ninth chancellor in June 2003.
    He is known for his fundraising, including his support for the reconstruction of the Gate of Harmonious Interest, the entrance to Victoria's historic Chinatown. His family was instrumental in the establishment of the Harry Lou-Poy Infant and Toddler Child Care Centre at UVic, named after his father.
    Another British Columbian inducted as a member of the Order of Canada was Timothy Porteous, who retired to West Vancouver after a career that included stints as a speechwriter to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and director of the Canada Council. He was honoured as a "champion of the arts" including his support for the National Gallery of Canada and the National Arts Centre.
    Delta's Ike Barber, former chairman of Slocan Forest Products who has made a major donation to the University of B.C.'s library, was made an officer of the order.
    According to the citation for Barber, he "emerged as a leader in sustainable forest management through his innovative approaches to harvesting and reforestation in B.C.'s Slocan Valley." As well, he showed a "strong commitment to the economic stability of the province's northern communities."