Rate My Professor Lily Kong

Professor Lily Kong is the fifth President and the first Singaporean to lead Singapore Management University. She is also the first Singaporean woman to serve as President of any university in Singapore. She holds the Lee Kong Chian Chair Professorship of Social Sciences, with a courtesy appointment at the College of Integrative Studies. She was previously Provost of SMU from 2015 to 2018. Before joining SMU, she held various senior management roles at the National University of Singapore, including Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Dean of the University Scholars Programme, Vice-President (University and Global Relations), and other vice provost positions. She joined the faculty of the NUS Department of Geography in 1991.

Professor Kong earned a BA (Hons) in Geography (First Class) from the National University of Singapore in 1986, an MA in Geography from NUS in 1988, and a PhD in Geography from University College London in 1991. Her research specialisations include urban transformations and social and cultural change in Asian cities, with interests in religion, cultural policy and the creative economy, national identity, globalisation and migration, and the social construction of nature and the environment. She has published 12 books and monographs and over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. She has served as an editor or editorial board member for more than 15 international journals and as series editor or advisor for multiple book series. Under her leadership at SMU, the university has advanced initiatives in digital transformation, sustainable living, and growth in Asia, launched new colleges, research centres, and overseas centres, and achieved significant growth in enrolment, research funding, industry partnerships, and philanthropic support. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and has received awards including the Public Administration Medal (Silver) and other national and international honours. She serves on Singapore’s Public Service Commission and chairs the World Cities Summit Knowledge Council.