Official Opening Of Alumni Complex

Friday, 20 March 2009, 7.45pm, Alumni Complex

Download Complete Speech 

Our Guest-Of-Honour, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew,

NUS Pro-Chancellors

NUS Chairman, Mr Wong Ngit Liong,

NUS Society President, Mr Johnny Tan,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies & Gentlemen,

I would like to welcome you warmly to this special event - the Official Opening of the Alumni Complex and the NUSS Dialogue.

The NUS family comprises some 30,000 students, 7000 faculty and staff, and 196,000 alumni in Singapore and around the world. To our alumni and friends who have not visited NUS for some time, I invite you to do so. You will find our campus stimulating and abuzz with exciting activity. But the NUS community would be even richer, even stronger and even more vibrant if the majority of our alumni are fully engaged with our University.

This is our goal, and in this regard we have made good progress over the past 10 years. In particular, the relationship between NUS and the NUS Society, has never been better. The Alumni Complex which is being opened this evening bears testimony to the strength and long-term nature of this partnership.

The Alumni Complex, comprises two buildings - the Shaw Foundation Alumni House and the NUS Society's Kent Ridge Guild House. For NUS, the Complex symbolizes our commitment to our alumni, who are the vital third pillar that holds our University proudly up, together with the other two pillars - our students, and our faculty and staff.

Our aim is to make the Alumni complex bustle with activity that brings together our alumni, students, faculty and staff; and which adds to the vibrancy of our campus. At the same time, I hope the Alumni Complex will not just be a place for meaningful interaction, but will also serve as a portal and a bridge between our alumni and the wider NUS community on campus.

The Alumni Complex was a bold vision six years in the making. It was the brainchild of my predecessor, Prof Shih Choon Fong and the NUSS' leadership.

This bold vision was made possible by the support of our principal benefactors, founding benefactors, alumni and friends. I want to especially thank Dr Shaw Vee Meng, Chairman of The Shaw Foundation, and NUSS for their generous and strong support for this project.

Most of all, I would like to thank Minister Mentor for gracing this occasion - Minister Mentor, your presence tonight makes this occasion particularly special.

The official opening of the Alumni Complex heralds a new chapter of even deeper and stronger ties between NUS and our alumni both here and abroad. I am confident that working together, we can take our university to the next level of excellence for the benefit of the NUS and of Singapore.

Thank you.