Lily Kong

Professor Lily Kong BBM PPA(P) FBA is a Singaporean geographer currently serving as president of Singapore Management University (SMU). A cultural geographer known for her work on urban transformation, religion and secularity in cities, and cultural policy, she is the first female Singaporean academic to helm a Singapore university.^[1] Kong's leadership at SMU has focused on digital transformation, sustainability, and Asia-focused growth through the University’s SMU2025 and SMU2030 strategic plans.^[2][3]

She previously served as Provost of SMU and Vice-President of the National University of Singapore (NUS).^[4][5][6]

Kong graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a First Class BA (Hons) degree in Geography in 1986. She obtained a MA from NUS in 1988. She went on to complete a PhD in Geography at University College London in 1991.^[7] Her doctoral research examined religion and place in Singapore, laying the foundation for her later research on urban cultural geography.^[8][9]

A cultural geographer by training,^[10] she became a faculty member of the NUS Department of Geography in 1991 and served as the Dean of NUS's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from 2000 to 2003. Kong went on to hold several further senior positions at the institution, including Dean of University Scholars Programme (2002–2005), Director of Asia Research Institute (2008–2014), and Vice-President (University & Global Relations). Later roles included Vice Provost (Education), Vice Provost (Academic Personnel) Acting Executive Vice President (Academic Affairs) of the Yale-NUS College, Director of the Asia Research Institute, and Vice-President (University and Global Relations).^[6][11]

Kong oversaw aspects of NUS’s internationalisation, including the launch of Yale-NUS College (2011), which promotes liberal-arts education across Asia.^[12]

In September 2015, Kong joined Singapore Management University (SMU) as Provost and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences.^[13] At the start of 2019, she succeeded Belgian academic Arnoud De Meyer as President of SMU, becoming the first woman and also the first Singaporean academic to helm SMU.^[14][5]

As President of SMU, Kong has focused on enhancing the quality of the university's students and faculty, developing educational programmes, growing the impact of the university's research, and reforming the university's sexual harassment policy.^[14][15]

Kong has also been a member of Singapore's Public Service Commission since January 2009.^[5]

In September 2020, Kong was announced as one of the 25 outstanding female leaders in the Asia-Pacific region according to Forbes' list of 2020 Asia’s Power Businesswomen.^[16]

As the 15th S R Nathan Fellow, Kong delivered a lecture series in three parts on the evolving role of universities in shaping societal development.^[17] Her first lecture illustrated the historical transformations of universities that reflected changing societal contexts. Her second lecture examined the concept of “Universities for the 100-Year Life”—the evolution of a university’s relevance and role as humanity confronts the high possibility of life expectancies stretching to 100 years. In her third and final lecture, Kong discussed the responsibility of universities—as a brain trust—to the world beyond their walls. She further addressed the challenges of misinformation, manipulation, and misconduct in research, but also, more optimistically, research that is creative, catalytic, and consequential.

Kong has served as an editor or member of international editorial advisory boards for over 15 journals, including Social and Cultural Geography and Dialogues in Human Geography. She is also a series editor of Pacific Rim Geographies: Studies on Contemporary Culture, Environment, Cities and Development (Routledge), Co-Chief Editor of the ARI-Springer Asia Series, and Book Series Advisor for The Politics of Popular Culture in Asia Pacific (University of Illinois Press and Hong Kong University Press). She also has 19 books and monographs to her name, as well as over 150 papers in international refereed journals and chapters in books. Her research interests include religion, cultural policy and creative economy, national identity, globalisation and migration, and the social construction of nature and the environment.^[6][18]

Kong is a recipient of the following awards:^[5][6][13]

Singaporean awards

• NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching Excellence Award
• NUS Outstanding University Researcher Award
• National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Award
• Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (Perak) (Public Administration Medal(Silver)), 2006
• Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star), 2020^[19]

International awards

• Elected Fellow of the British Academy^[20]
• Honorary Doctor of Science, Loughborough University
• Commonwealth Fellowship Award
• Fulbright Fellowship Award
• Association of American Geographers Robert Stoddard Award for Distinguished Service (Geography of Religion and Belief Systems)