SUSS honoured the lifelong contribution of Professor Eddie Kuo by launching the Eddie Kuo Fund for Chinese Studies with an endowment of S$1.01 million, thanks to various supporters. The fund will drive, support and continue the work of advancing Chinese language, literature, culture, and the arts in Singapore and the region.
This fund will support a wide array of projects including public events, book publications, academic research, and visiting scholars, all with the common goal of cultivating and enhancing efforts to spread awareness of the Chinese Culture within the community.
With this fund, distinguished scholars in different fields of Chinese Studies will be able to conduct and publish interdisciplinary research and be provided with various platforms such as speaking engagements at SUSS to share their insights with the Singapore community.
The fund will enrich the academic experience of SUSS students, alumni and faculty of Chinese Studies across the various disciplines in SUSS, including Chinese Language and Literature, Early Childhood Education, and Translation and Interpretation.
(From left) Mr Lim Jim Koon, a member of the Eddie Kuo Fund for Chinese Studies Fundraising Committee; Prof Eddie Kuo, Honorary Advisor, SUSS; Prof Tan Tai Yong, President, SUSS; and Prof Robbie Goh, Provost, SUSS, with the Chinese calligraphy scroll presented to Prof Eddie Kuo, in appreciation of his contributions to SUSS, Chinese education and Chinese culture.
The translation from Chinese to English of the ‘Unity in Diversity: Language and Society in Singapore’ book, which Professor Kuo and Associate Professor Luo Futeng, SUSS Head of Chinese Language & Literature programmes, co-authored, will be the first funded project.
Launched on 21 July 2022, the original book was published under the SUSS Humanities Series. The authors presented a holistic observation of the implementation and progress of Singapore’s language planning and bilingual education policies since the nation’s independence. This was done through analysing data gleaned from years of national census and large amounts of historical facts and setting the research from sociolinguistic perspectives. The book also explored the current state of languages used by the four main local ethnic groups and the future trends, leading to discussions on important social sciences issues such as national consciousness, racial consciousness and self-identity.
The original book was one of the 10 Best Non-fiction Chinese Books of 2022 of Yazhou Zhoukan.
During the event, SUSS also conferred the appointment of Honorary Advisor to Professor Kuo to recognise and leverage his immense knowledge and experience to provide invaluable guidance and expert advice to the University.