Kang Sukhee, the Mayor of Irvine, California, was granted an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from Dongseo University. The conferral ceremony was held at the conference room in the New Millennium Building on March 31st. The Founder of the Dongseo Educational Foundation, Dr. Chang Sung Man; the Chancellor, Park Dong Soon; President Chang Jekuk; and the Dean of the Graduate School Kim Chang Dae were all in attendance, as were other professors.
University authorities said that Mayor Kang was awarded the degree because in his service as mayor he has done his best to energize the economy and to support education in the region. His efforts have also made a special contribution in enhancing the status of Koreans living in the U.S.A. Under his mayoralty, Irvine has been the seventh safest and wealthiest city in America for seven consecutive years.
Founder Chang said in his congratulatory speech, that the decision to bestow Mayor Kang with an honorary degree was the result of his incredible effort to be re-elected as the Mayor of Irvine as a first-generation Korean-American. Mayor Kang said in his speech that he owed thanks to God for the pleasure of accepting a degree from Dongseo, and emphasized that from his tour of Dongseo University he had gained the impression that the beauty and splendor of the campus came into being through the vision and aspirations of Founder Chang Sung Man. He also added that he expects DSU to have a very bright future. After the ceremony, Mayor Kang presented a special lecture to students at Sohyang Art Hall.