Singapore, June 15, 2021 – Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) Chairman Mr Richard Eu will step down on 30 June 2021 and take on the role of Pro-Chancellor from 1 July 2021. The University will welcome Mrs Mildred Tan, Chairman of the Tote Board and a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers, as the new Chairman to its Board of Trustees (BoT).
Mr Richard Eu – A Trailblazer in Singapore’s Adult Education Landscape, Transforming SUSS to Singapore’s Sixth Autonomous University
Mr Eu, Chairman of Eu Yan Sang International, was appointed Chairman of the UniSIM BoT on 1 September 2015. Prior to that, he was a member of the Board and continued to serve as Chairman when UniSIM was restructured to SUSS. He has served for more than 16 years in Singapore’s education sector.
Mr Eu played a key role in the transformation of SUSS to Singapore’s sixth autonomous university (AU) in 2017, a major milestone in Singapore’s education history. He steered the University to blaze new trails in harnessing its strong legacy in adult education and online learning, and made higher education accessible through SUSS’ unique open and flexible admission approach. He championed SUSS’ mission to provide a truly holistic education throughout one’s course of life (‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ university education), and for learners to pursue continuous and professional upgrading of their knowledge and skills to meet their evolving training needs in a dynamic world.
During Mr Eu’s appointment as Chairman, SUSS grew from four schools to five, and increased its academic programme offerings from 50 to more than 80, serving 19,500 students pursuing a wide variety of full-time and part-time programmes. Many of SUSS’ programmes are now modular and stackable towards full qualifications, allowing students to design and build their own learning, tailored to their learning needs and pace. SUSS also made strides in expanding and fully developing its online learning capability that has enhanced students’ learning experience. Tapping on his illustrious business background, Mr Eu encouraged the University’s effort to provide SUSS students with opportunities to develop entrepreneurial know-how and experience.
Another significant milestone during Mr Eu’s chairmanship was the commencement of Singapore’s third law school at SUSS in 2017. In keeping with the social mission of the University, the SUSS School of Law trains and develops a pipeline of work-ready law graduates with a passion to practice Family and Criminal Law in Singapore. Upon its launch, application to the Bachelor of Laws undergraduate and Juris Doctor graduate programmes saw an overwhelming response, with 80 percent of the 60 places offered to mature students.
SUSS’ growth and development would not have been possible without the visionary leadership of Mr Eu and his deep involvement in areas such as the University’s governance and strategic directions as the Chair of the SUSS Establishment and Nomination Committees, and his judicious stewardship as an active member of the SUSS Investment Committee since 2015. He also played a key role in the integration of the Institute for Adult Learning into SUSS in 2019. In 2020, under his guidance, SUSS developed a 10-year Strategic Plan to position the University as a “Leading University for Social Good”, with the dual purposes of inspiring lifelong learning, and transforming society through applied social sciences.
For his contributions, Mr Eu was awarded the prestigious Public Service Medal by the Singapore Government in 2020.
Minister for Education Mr Chan Chun Sing expressed his appreciation to Mr Eu for his years of service to SUSS. “Richard has contributed much to the advancement of Singapore’s education system by establishing SUSS as an AU with a strong focus on lifelong learning and the social sciences. This has created more educational opportunities for students, especially adult learners, to fulfil their aspirations and meet the evolving needs of our country.”
Mr Richard Eu said, “It has been my privilege to chair the SUSS BoT and to be part of the University’s journey. As SUSS embarks on its next phase of growth amidst social and economic challenges in a rapidly changing world, I am heartened to entrust the baton into the capable hands of Mildred who will build on SUSS’ strong foundations of lifelong and applied learning, and advance our mission to equip learners to serve society. I also wish to thank the SUSS BoT and management team for the trust and confidence they have placed in me over the past five years, and I look forward to contributing in my new capacity as Pro-Chancellor.”
Mrs Mildred Tan – Leading SUSS into the Next Chapter of Growth
Mrs Tan has a distinguished career in the commercial business and non-profit sectors and joined the SUSS BoT in October 2020. She currently chairs the Tote Board and co-chairs the Council for Board Diversity. She was recently appointed as a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers. Mrs Tan was awarded the Public Service Medal (PBM) in 2007 and Public Service Star (BBM) in 2014 for her outstanding contributions to community service by the Singapore Government.
From 2002 until mid-2018, Mrs Tan was the Managing Director with Ernst & Young Advisory Pte Ltd (EY) where she was responsible for the Business Advisory portfolio. She led large complex transformation in enterprises, business strategies, innovation and change management, as well as corporate governance.
She was also the ASEAN Regional leader for EY Advisory between 2009 and 2012 before assuming the position of EY ASEAN Regional Government and Public Sector Leader from 2013 to 2016, and concurrently, the EY Asia-Pacific Government and Public Sector Leader from 2015 to 2018. Her appointments led her to work with various government sectors including public/civil service innovations in defence, education, social services, healthcare, manpower, land and infrastructure including e-government and other public services.
“I am delighted to assume the Chair of SUSS and take this opportunity to thank Richard for his illustrious and outstanding leadership since its inception. 2020 truly epitomises a VUCA world faced with an extraordinary pandemic that changed so many lives, no less our faculty, students and staff at SUSS. We have seen dramatic changes of moving our programmes and courses online, and many have had to adjust to the new normal. These dramatic changes, our adaptability and resilience auger well at SUSS as we begin to see our future in the new horizon and what it holds for us. Innovation, Connectivity and Resilience must surely be the order of the day, along with the many exciting opportunities in the education space. I am very honoured to be part of a purpose-driven University that aspires to be a leading institution for social good. I look forward to working alongside with the team to create maximum impact in our fast-changing society, through lifelong learning and applied social sciences,” said Mrs Mildred Tan.
SUSS President, Professor Cheong Hee Kiat said, “We are excited to welcome Mildred to chair our Board. SUSS will benefit from her extensive experience and insights as we continue to pursue our vision to be a leading university for social good as part of our new strategic direction. We also want to express our deep appreciation to Richard for his significant contributions during his appointment as Chairman of the SUSS BoT. He has provided invaluable strategic counsel to the University during its developmental years and laid the foundation for its strategic focus in the next five to 10 years. We look forward to continuing our close engagement with him as our Pro-Chancellor.”
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About the Singapore University of Social Sciences
Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) is a university with a rich heritage in inspiring lifelong education, and transforming society through social sciences. We develop work-ready graduates and work-adaptive alumni to their fullest potential through our 3H’s education philosophy – ‘Head’ for professional competency with applied knowledge, ‘Heart’ for social awareness to meet the needs of the society, and ‘Habit’ for passion towards lifelong learning.
We offer over 80 undergraduate and graduate programmes, available in full- and part-time study modes, which are flexible, modular and inter-disciplinary, catering to both fresh school leavers and adult learners. SUSS also offers a broad range of continuing education and training modular courses for the professional skills upgrading of Singapore’s workforce.
Our programmes and courses are made available through our five schools:
- S R Nathan School of Human Development
- School of Business
- School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences
- School of Law
- School of Science and Technology
To date, over 38,000 graduates have experienced our unique brand of education, and each year, about 15,000 students are pursuing their full- and part-time studies with us.
The
Institute for Adult Learning (IAL), as part of SUSS, leads in the field of research on adult learning to build capabilities of the training and adult education sector in Singapore and beyond.
For more information on SUSS, please visit www.suss.edu.sg