Lily Kong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Professor Lily Kong | |
|---|---|
江莉莉 | |
| Born | 1965 (age 60–61) Singapore |
| Occupation | President of Singapore Management University |
| Awards | Public Administration Medal (Silver) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University College London National University of Singapore |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Geography |
Sub-discipline | Cultural geography |
| Institutions | Singapore Management University National University of Singapore |
Main interests |
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Lily Kong BBM PPA(P) FBA is a Singaporean currently serving as President of Singapore Management University (SMU), and a cultural geographer. She is the first Singaporean academic to helm a Singapore university.[1] Kong's leadership at SMU has focused on digital transformation, sustainability, and Asia-focused growth through the University’s SMU2025 and SMU2030 strategic plans.[2][3]
She previously served as Provost of SMU and Vice-President of the National University of Singapore (NUS).[4][5][6]
Kong graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a First Class BA (Hons) degree in Geography in 1986. She obtained a MA from NUS in 1988. She went on to complete a PhD in Geography at University College London in 1991.[7] Her doctoral research examined religion and place in Singapore, laying the foundation for her later research on urban cultural geography.[8][9]
A cultural geographer by training,[10] she became a faculty member of the NUS Department of Geography in 1991 and served as the Dean of NUS's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from 2000 to 2003. Kong went on to hold several further senior positions at the institution, including Dean of University Scholars Programme (2002–2005), Director of Asia Research Institute (2008–2010), and Vice-President (University & Global Relations). Later roles included Vice Provost (Education), Vice Provost (Academic Personnel) Acting Executive Vice President (Academic Affairs) of the Yale-NUS College, Director of the Asia Research Institute, and Vice-President (University and Global Relations).[6][11]
Kong oversaw aspects of NUS’s internationalisation, including the launch of Yale-NUS College (2011), which promotes liberal-arts education across Asia.[12]
In September 2015, Kong joined Singapore Management University (SMU) as Provost and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences.[13] At the start of 2019, she succeeded Belgian academic Arnoud De Meyer as President of SMU, becoming the first woman and also the first Singaporean academic to helm SMU.[14][5]
As President of SMU, Kong has focused on enhancing the quality of the university's students and faculty, developing educational programmes, growing the impact of the university's research, and reforming the university's sexual harassment policy.[14][15]
Kong has also been a member of Singapore's Public Service Commission since January 2009.[5]
In September 2020, Kong was announced as one of the 25 outstanding female leaders in the Asia-Pacific region according to Forbes' list of 2020 Asia’s Power Businesswomen.[16]
