Yale-NUS College Hall Naming Ceremony

I’m absolutely delighted to be here and welcome you today.

The Performance Hall has always been the heart of Yale-NUS College.

It is here that many of us set off by sea with Odysseus, and that we followed Rama and Sita into the forest, read Aristotle and Confucius, and explored the teachings in Indian Vedas.

Here, we were exposed to the different ways that an anthropologist and an economist might think about family. It is where we read Shakespeare’s Tempest from a post-colonial point of view, where we followed a comic book character through Singapore’s history, and where we delved deep into the geological record to try to understand the beginning of life.

It is here that we also asked the really big questions about the nature of evil and what it means to live a good life

In these seats we explored the future of society, worried about inequality, and debated our duty to one another, to our communities, and to our planet.

But it wasn’t just the Common Curriculum that happened here.

Here we have enjoyed our joyful and irreverent faculty and alumni debates.

But we have also learned from Minister Ong Ye Kung about the future of healthcare in Singapore, heard from Professor Stephen Greenblatt about the relevance of old works of literature and art to the world today, learned from Professor Richard Prum about colour and beauty in the natural world, and listened to Fareed Zakaria and Professor and Ambassador Tommy Koh speak about the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

This hall is a place of sublime beauty. Our architects Pelli Clarke & Partners and Forum Architects exceeded expectations with the physical space that has been host to exquisite piano concerts, voice recitals and gorgeous dance performances. From boisterous Bollywood bangra, to ballroom dance, to dynamic fashion shows, this hall has rocked to the heartbeat of our students.

These walls have also experienced quiet moments, where it was a safe space for the brave sharing of survivors during sexual wellness week. Here, we also celebrated our Kingfisher Awards for student leaders and our long service awards for dedicated staff and faculty.

And last, but never least at Yale-NUS, this hall has hosted quite a number our signature and somewhat notorious townhall meetings.

This hall has witnessed all that is the best of Yale-NUS – how we listen, share, critically engage, learn, collaborate and celebrate, together as a community.

The personal transformation that occurred here has left a mark on all of us.

I am delighted that today, thanks to NUS and Yale, our echoes will continue to reverberate in this space that has been so important to all of us, as we unveil the new name of this hall.

I’d like to now invite our founding and continuing Board Chair Mdm Kay Kuok, and the President of Yale Professor Peter Salovey to the stage.

Watch the speech here: