SMU Provost and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences Lily Kong will be the first Singaporean academic and social scientist to helm the 18-year-old University. The first three SMU Presidents were from American universities, while current President Professor Arnoud De Meyer is a Belgian. Prof Kong is slated to assume her new role at the start of next year.

SMU board Chairman Ho Kwon Ping said the University launched a global search for its new President after Professor De Meyer asked to step down by the end of this year. Mr Ho said, "We are very pleased that our seven-month search process culminated in the University appointing, for the first time in its history, an internal candidate and a social scientist as President."

He added that the fact that Prof Kong is both a woman and Singaporean is a nice plus, but clearly not the deciding factor. In her short stint as SMU Provost, Prof Kong has managed to contribute to the development of the University and its students and had been instrumental in leading and driving many successes in all major academic aspects of SMU.

Prof Kong said she was "deeply honoured" to be appointed President of SMU. "But at the same time, it is an exciting time for growth and expansion into new directions, some of which has already started," she said. This included expanding into other disciplines and catering to groups such as working adults.

Mr Ho also praised Prof De Meyer for his internationalisation efforts as well as launching new postgraduate programmes in the University, including the SMU-X experiential learning programme which has become an integral part of the University’s innovative pedagogy. After stepping down, Prof De Meyer has agreed to help shape SMU-X on a part-time basis.