9 January 2023

Dear Yale-NUS community and friends,

Happy 2023!

I love the start of a new year – it brings about new hope and fresh possibilities of what we can achieve together.

This year, I hope we will continue to find opportunities to explore and grow through new experiences. This is what Yale-NUS College is about and aims to provide – an environment for learning and sharing of knowledge so we can create positive change together.

This semester, I am pleased to share that we will be welcoming new faculty members who will be teaching across our Humanities, Social Sciences and Science Divisions, including four visiting faculty from Yale University. Professors Marvin Chun, Woo-Kyoung Ahn, Jonathan Wyrtzen and Leslie Gross-Wyrtzen are the first Yale faculty to assume teaching positions at Yale-NUS College since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later in the semester, Valerie Hansen will be conducting a four-day Learning Across Boundaries (LAB) in Brunei. We are excited to have them with us!

As we begin classes this week, we are also kick-starting the series of public talks that we have lined up for the year. On Thursday, we are hosting experts from the international art scene who will speak on the role of public institutions and residencies in the arts ecosystem, and next month, we will host writer and former Director General of the Delhi Policy Group Dr Radha Kumar who will speak at our Geopolitics Series. Besides the talks, we have also planned many exciting campus activities and engagement sessions. I look forward to meeting and connecting with you at our events.

As we look forward and embark on new learning opportunities, we also celebrate what we have, and the importance of preserving our legacy. Legacy building continues to be a key project at the College this year, and many Yale-NUS community members have been hard at work, contributing to this in different ways. We have embarked on a digital legacy platform, which will house materials such as a virtual College tour and contributed stories from the Yale-NUS community, and are also working on a book and a sculpture to be placed on campus that will commemorate the Yale-NUS legacy. We look forward to sharing more about these projects in time to come.

Finally, I thank you for your continued support for the College and wish you a joyful year ahead.

Sincerely, 

Joanne Roberts