NUS President receives Leadership Award

For his “unparalleled creative and visionary leadership”, NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan has been conferred the 2015 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Asia-Pacific Leadership Award.

“As President of NUS and through his impressive international work in academe and medicine, Prof Tan has had a profound impact upon education, health and society. He has also been an impressive champion for institutional advancement….a true champion of the power of education and the work that professionals do on behalf of their institutions in advancing education,” said CASE President Ms Sue Cunningham. Ms Tricia King, CASE Vice President for International Operations, presented the award to Prof Tan on behalf of Ms Cunningham on 18 April at NUS. 

The prestigious award from CASE — an international association that supports more than 3,700 educational institutions in developing their alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing operations — recognises member leaders who actively support advancement; inspire others; establish a positive image for their institution; increase their institution’s stature in the community; and encourage innovation and risk-taking.

Prof Tan’s association with the University dates back nearly 40 years when he was a student at NUS Medicine. He went on later to become the youngest Dean of the medical school at the age of 37. Through his myriad roles in administration, management and research, NUS today is a leading university centred in Asia, and has risen to become the world’s 12th university in the 2015/2016 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.

Prof Tan has long championed the advancement of education, research and health through his many illustrious global and national leadership roles which have had a profound impact on various aspects of society. A snapshot of these roles and his achievements, since being appointed NUS President in 2008, was encapsulated in a special video screened during the event. The video also featured words of praise from Prof Tan’s peers, including Dr Noeleen Heyzer, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and member of the NUS Board of Trustees; Mr S R Nathan, former Singapore President and 5th NUS Chancellor; Professor Peter Salovey, President of Yale University; Professor Atsushi Seike, President of Keio University; and Mr David Ho, President of NUS Society.

Prof Tan acknowledged the diverse contributions of the NUS community in his acceptance speech

Under his percipient leadership, NUS has seen the launch of University Town; the pioneering of new models of education in collaboration with Duke University and Yale University; the strengthening of ties with alumni both locally and abroad; and the establishment of a research institute in China’s Suzhou Industrial Park, the first overseas university to do so.

Prof Tan is also the champion fundraiser for many NUS initiatives. In 2013, the NUS Alumni Students Advancement Committee was formed as a tri-partite partnership between the NUS Society, Development Office and Office of Alumni Relations. One of the sub-committees is the Alumni Bursary Fund committee which has raised more than $5 million in only two years for financially needy students.

Globally, Prof Tan is the first university president to be selected by his peers to chair both the International Alliance of Research Universities (from 2008 to 2012) and the Global University Leaders Forum. On the national front, he was instrumental in overcoming the 2003 SARS epidemic in Singapore as Director of Medical Services at the Singapore Ministry of Health from 2000 to 2004. He was also a key leader in Singapore’s biomedical sciences initiatives since 2000. Prof Tan currently holds several appointments including Board Chairman of the National University Health System; Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research; and Chairman of the Central Provident Fund Advisory Panel.

In his address, Prof Tan highlighted three areas that needed to be intensified and aligned to ensure NUS’ continuing and vibrant growth — a focus on people, a sense of common purpose, and a culture of excellence and innovation.

He thanked CASE for bestowing on him the leadership award, attributing the University’s success to the collective contributions of the NUS community. “I’m delighted and privileged to accept this award on behalf of NUS — in particular Chairman Mr Wong Ngit Liong and members of the NUS Board of Trustees, my fellow colleagues in the leadership team, our faculty, staff, alumni, students, and benefactors of the University…[CASE] has made a big difference around the world and grown its community in the Asia Pacific. To receive this prestigious award from CASE is therefore a privilege,” said Prof Tan.

See press release.
Read citation by Ms Tricia King, CASE Vice President for International Operations.
Watch 2015 CASE Asia-Pacific Leadership Award video.