Nov 23 - Douglas mourns passing of David Lam

November 23, 2010

Flags at the David Lam (Coquitlam) and New Westminster campuses of Douglas College are at half mast today in honour of David Lam, the first Asian-Canadian lieutenant governor in Canadian history, who has died at the age of 87.

The Hong Kong-born philanthropist, developer and investor died from prostate cancer early Sunday morning.

Douglas College named its Coquitlam campus in honour of the former lieutenant governor for his pioneering efforts in both education and immigration.

"We were sad to hear of David Lam's death, but proud that he lent his name to our Coquitlam campus," says Scott McAlpine, President of Douglas College. "He was a great Canadian who worked tirelessly to promote education, social services and improve the immigrant experience."

Lam attended the 1996 opening of the Coquitlam campus with his wife, Dorothy, and supported the internationalization of Douglas College through new partnership programs with post-secondary institutions in China.

"Douglas College is one of the most culturally diverse post-secondary institutions in BC, and possibly in Canada," McAlpine says. "David Lam's life-long contributions to education and cultural diversity made him a perfect fit with the College."