5 September 2007

Recognised for strengthening bond between alma mater and alumni

RECOGNITION: Mr John Lippincott, President of CASE (left) presenting the Chief Executive Leadership Award to NUS President Prof Shih Choon Fong.

He has been outstanding in his academic leadership. In recognition of his effort in cultivating alumni relations and philanthropy, NUS President Prof Shih Choon Fong was awarded the Chief Executive Leadership Award by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He is the first leader of an Asia-Pacific higher education institution to receive the award.

CASE presented the award to Prof Shih at the launch of its operations in Singapore. The association is a professional association which provides training and professional development for fundraising, communication, marketing and alumni relations professionals in educational institutions around the world.

To strengthen the bond between alma mater and alumni, Prof Shih established overseas alumni chapters and an Alumni Complex at NUS to serve the university's 177,000 alumni. He also established the NUS Development Office and personally worked to inspire philanthropy. Under his leadership, the University's endowment grew to $1.2 billion last year.

Prof Shih said the award is a recognition for the collective effort of the NUS community to transform NUS from a "good" to "great" university. "With government funding, we become a good university. But to transform NUS into a great university, we need to take an active approach to cultivate ties with our alumni," he said.

Mr John Lippincott, President of CASE, thanked Prof Shih for helping CASE to organise the association's first comprehensive conference in 2006 on advancement for universities and colleges in Asia-Pacific. The success of the conference, and the staunch support of NUS has led CASE to establish its presence in the region with CASE Asia-Pacific. It now has an office at NUS. 

"Prof Shih's support for advancement goes beyond NUS. His recognition of advancement's vital role in helping educational institutions thrive has led him to work tirelessly to expand the visibility of the profession in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond," he said.