story | Nicholas Lua, Features Editor
photo | Public Affairs
Richard Charles Levin will be the commencement speaker at Yale-NUS College’s inaugural graduation ceremony. In choosing a commencement speaker, Pericles Lewis, President of Yale-NUS College, said he wanted someone associated with the college who had “a message relevant to our graduates.”
Mr. Levin currently sits on the Yale-NUS Governing Board and is the Chief Executive Officer of Coursera, an educational technology company offering many open online courses. As President of Yale University between 1993 and 2013, Mr. Levin spearheaded the creation of Yale-NUS College, a joint venture between Yale University and the National University of Singapore. “Rick Levin is a great educational leader who’s played a big role in the founding of the college. He’s a wonderful speaker and we really look forward to hearing him speak,” said Mr. Lewis.
The decision to choose Mr. Levin came after deliberations between the Dean of Students’ Office, Public Affairs, and the administration’s graduation committee. Previously, names of potential speakers suggested by the senior batch were submitted to Christopher Bridges, the Dean of Students through the student graduation committee.
The graduation ceremony will take place from 1.30pm to 4.30pm on May 29, 2017 at the University Cultural Centre. Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of the Republic of Singapore and Chancellor of National University of Singapore, was also announced as the guest of honor at the ceremony and will be presenting the degree scrolls to the graduating class.
A detailed program for the Class of 2017’s Graduation will be made available near the end of February to early March on the graduation website, https://www.yale-nus.edu.sg/graduation/.