Welcome Address By Prof Cheong Hee Kiat At Renaming Of School Of Human Development & Social Services

President of the Republic of Singapore & Patron of SUSS, Madam Halimah Yacob;

Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education (Higher Education & Skills);

Prof Aline Wong, Chancellor, SUSS;

Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Social and Family Development;

Mrs S R Nathan and family;

Distinguished guests, members of the media, colleagues, partners, ladies and gentlemen;

Good morning and a warm welcome to all of you. It is my privilege to welcome President Halimah Yacob on her maiden visit to SUSS, since we renamed our University. Thank-you for gracing this occasion, and thank you also for agreeing to be the Patron of SUSS.

President Nathan and SUSS

I would also like to extend our deepest appreciation to Mrs Nathan and your family for making time to attend today’s ceremony. SUSS is honoured to have the late President, Mr S R Nathan, as our first patron from 2006 to 2011.
Mr Nathan was genuinely interested in our University’s work. He visited us and participated in a good number of our university events. He was a strong advocate and supporter of our mission to provide lifelong education that equips our students to serve society. He led by example and was readily a source of encouragement and inspiration to us during SUSS’s formative years. So, it is apt that with today’s ceremony, Mr Nathan’s name will be associated with the university in a lasting way. SUSS is privileged indeed.

Social Impact

When we re-named our University as the Singapore University of Social Sciences last March, our intention was to ensure that the aspiration for a strong and positive social impact should be found in all our disciplines. Like Mr Nathan, we wanted our staff, students, programmes and research to have our hearts in the right place – which is to be people-centric and to contribute to the betterment of the society. Whether it is in early childhood education, social work, gerontology, or electronics, fintech, business analytics, psychology, the common thread is people and how their lives can be improved, and enjoyed.
At SUSS, it is our goal to educate and develop graduates with the DNA of the 3H's – Head (knowledge with practical application), Heart (social conscience) and Habit (self-directed lifelong learning habits). I think Mr Nathan would have approved.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our alumni, community partners, industries, teaching associates, government agencies and various ministries for your steadfast support. We are happy to bring together this community today.

Gallery Walk and Seminar

This morning, our students, teaching associates and partners have assembled an exhibition of their contributions to the society in the areas of service-learning, social entrepreneurship and outdoor experiential learning. I hope you will enjoy viewing the exhibits that have been put up at the foyer. Do also join our seminar in this theatre right after the reception following the re-naming ceremony. Titled “Transforming Lives, Serving Society”, it commemorates the late President Nathan’s legacy of service. I’d like to thank the organisers of this event, my SUSS colleagues, the exhibitors, the speakers and everyone who has put in time, energy and heart to bring this about.
Once again, our sincere gratitude to President Halimah Yacob and Mrs Nathan for being with us here on this significant occasion.
Thank you.