Professor Li Shirong – her life remembered

Prof Li Shirong, the CIOB’s first female president who died recently aged 59 after a long battle with cancer, is remembered by two close friends and colleagues. 

Michael Brown, former deputy chief executive, CIOB recalls her determination and persistence

The CIOB has been working in China since 1991. In those early days I received a letter from one Li Shirong from Chongqing asking to be considered for membership. By then I had visited China, but had not heard of this place Chongqing, and Li Shirong – was this a man or a woman? Caution prevailed and this letter disappeared into the “too hard” tray.

Her quality of persistence was even evident then. Within a couple of weeks a second letter arrived giving more information, and stating that she was actively involved in the government committee in China responsible for the Construction Management curriculum in Chinese universities. At that time she was on a six-month research scholarship in Holland at Technische Universiteit Delft.  We arranged to meet.     

Soon after, she began a PhD at the University of Reading. This coincided with project work the CIOB was undertaking with the Ministry of Construction in China and funded by the British Council, developing the Construction Management curriculum for Chinese universities.

With her rapidly improving English, Li Shirong was able to act as an intermediary between the CIOB and the Chinese ministry, at that time all communications were either by telephone or fax, and the ministry was very short of English language speakers. We were all working in uncharted waters, but both sides felt more secure with Li Shirong acting as the intermediary. 

Whilst at Reading she wrote a textbook to be published by the CIOB on the Chinese construction industry and still managed to complete her PhD in the shortest possible time. She was diligent in her work because she had her family, work to do at her university, and Chongqing was home. She always displayed a very high capacity for work.

Whilst she was at Reading I remember clearly Shirong being very excited receiving a letter saying that she had been appointed a Professor of Construction Management in her University in Chongqing. I believe she was the youngest Professor at that time. She was held in very high regard even then.

However on one occasion she wanted to attend a conference in the United States to deliver an important speech. She was so angry and upset when her visa was refused. I discovered Professor Li Shirong had described herself as a student on her visa application form! 

Later she had no problem with visas and visited the US several times. In fact, she became a seasoned international traveller. Her reputation grew worldwide. I recollect she also visited South Africa, the Middle East, and several European and South East Asian countries, often several times.

Her career moved on, and she was appointed vice-mayor of her home district in Chongqing (Shapingba). In this position she was responsible for the creation of a new university town on the outskirts of the city. This was a huge and very fast development with campuses for around 20 universities and accommodation for hundreds of thousands of students.

She then moved as deputy director to COFTEC, the Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Commission. It is important to set the context: Chongqing has a land area the size of Scotland and a population three times the size of Portugal.

Shirong had a key role in promoting foreign trade for the municipality and expanded her network of very senior people across the world. I attended a number of receptions with her. She was a very able networker, starting at the top with the most senior person and then working her way through the room. Everybody would leave with a warm feeling having found a new friend. 

However, Shirong remained an academic at heart. Throughout her career she maintained her position at the university and throughout her working career supervised Masters and PhD students.

Becoming a Member of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) was a life-changing move for Shirong and the CIOB. She added a new dimension to the CIOB’s international development, and she was the driving force in establishing the Institute in China, ahead of any other UK professional association. 

Her CIOB professional life culminated in becoming President in 2009.  Shirong was the first ever woman to become the President and the first from outside the UK, and this while celebrating the 175th anniversary of the CIOB.  She will always be known in the CIOB as “Our First Lady”.

Roger Flanagan Professor of Construction Management, Shirong’s PhD supervisor, remembers ‘the Special one’

She lived life to the full and was always happy to help, to guide, and to be the one to make things happen. She was a lovely person both inside and outside.

What an amazing achievement for a lady from Ya’An, a small city in the western part of Sichuan Province, China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau, to become a Professor, a high-ranking government official, a vice mayor, and to be the first lady and first overseas President of the Chartered Institute of Building – that takes some doing. She earned the respect of everyone she met.

Shirong was educated at Chongqing University, went overseas to continue her education, firstly to Delft in Holland, then to Reading in the UK to study for her PhD. On her journey through life, she was driven with ambition, commitment, and compassion. When she taught at Chongqing University, the students loved her; they became part of her extended family. Even when she was so ill towards the end of her life, the students rallied to keep close to “the Special One”.

Her ability to make things happen was reflected when she held her President’s reception in the Chinese Embassy in London. The small matter of getting the Ambassador’s permission to provide the splendid facility with lunch was no obstacle to Shirong.

She was a woman of immense talent – her PhD external examiner commented after her doctoral oral examination that he was not sure who was examining whom! She learned English very quickly, she was happy to speak to large audiences, she always respected people. She was kind, thoughtful, and generous.

Siping, her husband, and XinXin, her daughter will miss her so much.

There are two verses in David Harkins poem, She is Gone, that Shirong would like:

“You can remember her and only that she has gone,
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty, and turn your back,
or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love, remember, go on, and be happy”.

Shirong, would have added, “never give up” in the final line of the poem. We will miss you, but never forget you. Your legacy will live on and be an inspiration for us all.