[Singapore, July 15, 2014 (Tuesday)] – The Singapore Management University (SMU) today celebrated its 11^th Commencement ceremony and conferred 2,149 degrees at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

This is SMU's largest batch of graduates since its inception in 2000 as Singapore’s first public-funded autonomous university. This year marked a particularly special ceremony as it is the first time all graduates assembled into one ceremony and in a single location.

The celebratory event was officially opened by Guest-of-Honour, Mr Chan Chun Sing, Singapore’s Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Defence.  SMU Chancellor, Mr Yong Pung How, was also present to grace the event.

This year's 1,602 students received their bachelor degrees and 531 their master’s. They include the graduands from three new SMU postgraduate programmes, namely Master of Science in CFO Leadership, Master of Science in Financial Economics and Master of Science in Quantitative Finance. There were 16 PhD graduates this year.

SMU awarded honorary doctorates on two extraordinary personalities. A citation for the award of an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree was read for Mr S R Nathan in recognition of his outstanding contribution and dedicated support to SMU and a lifetime of exemplary service to Singapore, as one of the country’s most distinguished public servants.  Professor Katherine Schipper also received an Honorary Doctor of Accountancy degree in recognition of her remarkable contribution of her academic papers to thinking and research in the areas of accounting thought and practice.

SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer who presided over the ceremony said in his address, “It is a very great pleasure to be here today at the University Ceremony of Commencement 2014. Especially so because you and I joined SMU in 2010, and you are the first cohort of undergraduates for whom I attended Convocation.”

“As you begin your careers, I urge all of you to keep the spirit of SMU alive and to espouse the principles that we consider so important. Carry our CIRCLE values of Commitment, Integrity, Responsibility, Collegiality, Leadership and Excellence with you wherever you go. These values are an integral part of SMU’s holistic approach to education. We have always emphasised not only the training of graduates intellectually, but also the nurturing of graduates with the heart.”

Each year at the Commencement Ceremony, SMU recognises students from each School who have embraced these values with CIRCLE Awards.  Winners of the CIRCLE Award are also distinguished by their all-round excellence in Student Life, Student Leadership, Community Service and Academic Studies. They have been actively involved in serving and giving back to SMU and the community at large.  In addition, they have demonstrated leadership abilities, are upright in character, and well-respected by peers, staff, and faculty.

This year, Chua Wei Yuan from the School of Law and Tommy Phun Yi Ze from the Lee Kong Chian School of Business have also been selected to represent the graduating cohort as the Valedictorian and Salutatorian respectively.  They stood out with their outstanding leadership skills, significant contributions to co-curricular activities and the community-at-large, good character records, excellent oratorical skills and excellent academic results (both achieved Summa Cum Laude).

Summing up his remarks for this year’s commencement ceremony, Professor De Meyer concluded, “To the entire Class of 2014, my heartiest congratulations and best wishes to all of you. I am confident you will step out to become leaders in your chosen fields and help to shape a better world!”

Senior Class Gift 2014

Each year, the graduating class raises funds collectively for the Senior Class Gift as a celebration of their journey and achievements at SMU. The tradition of giving at SMU was started by the pioneering class who decided that the best legacy they could leave behind was one that would keep on giving. They decided that the most meaningful gift was to pool their funds together to form a scholarship that would ensure future generations of students – even those who are financially stretched – would not find doors to an education at SMU closed to them. And hence the tradition of the Senior Class Gift at SMU was born. Gifts to Senior Class Gift are pooled together towards “Graduating Class of 2014 Scholarship”. The award will help provide tuition fees of needy undergraduates for one year of study at SMU. The scholarship will be awarded next year for AY2015/2016. This year’s collection continues till December 2014.

Enclosures:

• Honorary Degree Citation – SR Nathan
• Acceptance speech by SR Nathan, read by SMU Provost
• Address by SMU Chairman – Ho Kwon Ping
• Remarks by SMU President – Arnoud De Meyer

Media Contact:

Lyn Lee, FOO (Ms)
Assistant Director, Corp Communications                
Singapore Management University                           
DID: 6808 5238                                                          
Hp: 9694 0842                                                            
Email: llfoo [at] smu.edu.sg