Dr. Henry Wong immigrated from China to join his grandfather in Montreal at the tender age of 13. Even after 55 years, he remained connected to his Chinese heritage. Upon achieving considerable professional success, he demonstrated his commitment to his roots by making a substantial donation to Tsinghua University in Beijing.
This generous contribution not only established an endowment for annual scholarships at its inception, but also funded the extensive renovation of a liberal arts building. In acknowledgment of Henry’s benevolence, the university bestowed his name upon the building.
Today, the Henry Y.T. Wong Building serves as the esteemed home to Tsinghua University’s Institute of Education Research, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Foreign Languages Department, further cementing Henry’s legacy of philanthropy and dedication to education.
Dr. Harry Lam, a former classmate of Henry’s at McGill University, boasts an illustrious career as a theoretical physicist and former Chairman of McGill’s Physics Department. Additionally, he holds the esteemed position of Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Theoretical Physics. During a lecture tour in Beijing in 2005, he had the opportunity to capture several photographs of the Henry Y.T. Wong Building. Dr. Lam is the gentleman in three of the photos.
In Chinese, the building is called 黄松益楼, pronounced as huángsōngyì lóu in Mandarin. Henry, hailing from the Guangdong province in the 1930s, identifies more closely with the Cantonese pronunciation of his name, which sounds similar to Wong Tung Yick (where “Tung” rhymes with the English word “tone”).
Information within the building explains:
Henry Y.T. Wong Building
Dr. & Mrs. Henry Yick Tung Wong
This building was refurbished through the generosity of Dr. Henry Wong and his wife Sylvia, both of whom studied in Canada & U.S.A. Dr. Wong was born in Guangdong. He studied aerospace engineering at the University of Toronto and Princeton University. He earned his Doctor of Medicine from McMaster University and did his residency at the university of Southern California. He served as Chief of Radiation Oncology and Medical Director of the Cancer Center at St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Stockton, CA. He is a fellow of the American College of Radiation Oncology. Mrs. Sylvia S.S. Wong was born in Hong Kong. She got her B.A. from McMaster and M.Sc. from the State University of New York. She is a real estate broker & investor.
黄松益博士伉俪
本樣修建捐款人为赏松益伉俪。他们均负笈于加拿大与美国。黄君生于广东开平黄烈乡；曾就学于多伦多大学与普林斯顿大学航空太空工程系。他由麦马士达大学获医学博士后，专科于南加州大学。黄医生历任美国加州圣约瑟夫医疗中心（St. Joseph’s Medical Center）之放射肿瘤科主任兼肿瘤医院总医师，他是美园放射肿瘤学院院士。黄夫人何善胜硕士，毕业于麦马士达及纽约州大学，是一位成业投资人和经纪人
2006
In May 2006, Dr. Henry and Sylvia Wong were able to tour the building themselves. They were escorted by representatives of Tsinghua University.
In addition, they were introduced to recipients of the Henry and Sylvia Wong Endowed Scholarship Fund. That year, the scholarship fund provided income for nine scholarships for the university. Many of the beneficiaries can be seen below.
