Prof Saw (left) with NUS President Prof Shih Choon Fong

The National University of Singapore honours Professor Saw Swee Hock, loyal alumnus, respected professor and benefactor.

Professor Saw graduated from the then University of Malaya in Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in 1957 and a Masters degree in 1961. He received his doctorate from the London School of Economics.

Professor Saw established an illustrious career in the field of statistics spanning over 40 years. He first served the University in 1963 as Lecturer in Statistics returning to be Professor in 1971 after two years as the founding Professor of Statistics at the University of Hong Kong. He was the first Chairman of the National Statistical Commission in Singapore. He is currently Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Besides his public service, academic appointments and advisory role to the government, Professor Saw has made significant contributions to public discourse through his membership of some 30 committees, including the United Nations Committee on Salary Adjustments and the International Statistical Institute.

Professor Saw is a leading expert on population policy and investment management. After countless articles, seven books on statistics and demography and two books on investments, which he co-edited, he still has five single-authored books and three edited volumes forthcoming.

Besides serving on the NUS Council, Prof Saw has shown immense generosity towards the University. In 2003, he donated S$1.5 million for a Professorship in Statistics and S$30,000 for a gold medal award for the best Statistics Honours graduate. NUS' first Centennial Chair, the Saw Swee Hock Centennial Professorship in Medical Sciences, was endowed with S$2 million in 2004. The same year, he contributed S$2.55 million to establish the Saw Centre for Financial Studies in the NUS Business School. Prof Saw has also been generous to ISEAS.

In recognition of his dedicated service and unstinting support for the University over five decades, NUS honours Professor Saw Swee Hock by presenting him the inaugural NUS Distinguished Alumni Service Award.