Singapore Management University Commencement 2013, Hooding & Conferment of Degrees | Big Think

We move on now to a very special segment when we award a few very special degrees. The university recognizes and honors the monumental achievements of these select individuals for the sum of their contributions to their professions and the public. SMU is proud to confer honorary doctorate degrees on two extraordinary gentlemen.

First, may we invite the very enthusiastic Vice Provost and Dean of the School of Information Systems upon stage to deliver the citation for the first honorary degree recipient, Dr. John S. Brown. Professor Steven Miller, please.

Good morning. The Singapore Management University confers an honorary Doctor of Information Systems degree upon John C. Brown in recognition of his outstanding record as a scientist, scholar, and innovator in information and communications technology, or ICT for short. For his assessments of the business and economic impacts of ICT and for using ICT to enhance the science and practice of learning, John has been responsible for or involved in some of the most significant advances in ICT research, development, and practice over the past three decades. His insights and observations on ICT trends are sought out by private and public sector leaders worldwide.

His unique way of looking at IC developments and trends within the broader social context is highly acclaimed. While John has been an important contributor to IC development through his prior work as a researcher, laboratory director, corporate board director, advisor, and entrepreneur, he also maintains a healthy skepticism about whether or not change always represents genuine progress.

When John served as the Director of the highly acclaimed Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, he expanded the role of corporate research to include such topics as the management of radical innovation, organizational learning, complex adaptive systems, and nanotechnologies. He was a co-founder of the Institute for Research on Learning. His research includes digital youth culture, digital media and institutional innovation, the social context and social influences of learning, and the role of technology in business and education.

John is an inducted member into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education. He is also a fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a former trustee of the MacArthur Foundation; some people know this as the foundation that gives out the so-called genius awards. He serves on numerous public boards, including the boards of Amazon and Corning, the famous glass company, and on many private boards of directors.

He has published over a hundred papers in scientific journals and has co-authored numerous influential books. He has received the annual McKenzie prize for the best article in Harvard Business Review on two separate occasions. John received a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in 1962, majoring in math and physics, and a PhD from the University of Michigan in 1970, majoring in computer and communication sciences.

Now, up to this point in time, John has actually received six other honorary degrees, believe it or not. He's received an honorary Doctor of Science from three different universities: from Brown University, where he graduated as an undergrad, from the University of Michigan, and from North Carolina State University. He also has an honorary Doctor of Science and Economics from the London Business School, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Claremont Graduate University, and an honorary Doctor of Design from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

And that's why we are so proud to be the very first that gives John what we think is the honorary degree that is really most befitting for him, and that's the honorary Doctor of Information Systems. And why is that? Because what is Information Systems? It's not only the technology of information, and um, as some people might call it, it's the information itself. It's about the way people use it; it's the people who use it and the setting in which they use it, and John has been exemplary in bringing all of these things together.

And he's been an inspiration to our school. Just very briefly to mention, John has been an active contributor to our School of Information Systems since 2006, when he's been on our Advisory Board. And I want everyone sitting in the audience to know that John has done his national service, and he's done quite a bit of it. He has served on a number of very important Singapore panels and advisory boards for our Ministry of Education, our Media Development Authority, and our National Research Foundation.

Thank you. Thank you, Professor Miller. Please remain on stage with us. We now invite the Dean of the School of Law to deliver the citation for our second honorary degree recipient, Dr. Chan Kyong. Professor Yong Min, please.

Good morning. The Singapore Management University confers an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree upon Chanet Kyong in recognition of his remarkable contributions to the development of the legal sector in Singapore. As Attorney General and subsequently as Chief Justice, Dr. Chan has always been a pioneer, achieving several notable firsts. He was among the inaugural batch of law graduates from the University of Malaya in 1961, and he was the first Singapore law graduate to be admitted to the Federal Bar of Malaya in 1962.

He was the first person to be appointed Judicial Commissioner in 1986, among the first to be named Senior Counsel in 1997, and the first person to have held consecutive appointments as Judicial Commissioner, Judge, Attorney General, and Chief Justice. Chief Justice Chan became the first Singaporean and local law graduate to become an honorary bencher of the honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn in England in 2008. Then, in 2019, he was the first Asian to receive the International Jurists Award for outstanding contributions to the administration of justice and enhancing the dignity of the judiciary in Asia.

Dr. Chan was a practitioner when the Pen Electric Industries Company collapsed in 1985 due to unsettled forward contracts. It was the largest corporate collapse in Singapore's history, and it forced the stock exchanges of both Singapore and Malaysia to shut down for three days. Dr. Chan was called upon to draft agreements to extend credit from banks to the insolvent stock broking firms. These skillfully drafted agreements restored liquidity to the system and ensured the survival of the stock exchange, helping Singapore to maintain its standing as a financial center.

While serving as Chief Justice, Dr. Chan was asked by the government to appear as counsel for Singapore in the International Court of Justice at the Pedra Branca dispute. Together with Professor Juma, Professor Tommy Koh, and others, he presented Singapore's case lucidly, and the ICJ decisively upheld Singapore's sovereignty over the island. As Attorney General, Dr. Chan proved to be firm and fair but bold and humble. He earned the respect of the legal profession by emphasizing the importance of an independent bar when advising the government on legal policy and regulation.

He also established the technological infrastructure for legal research and services and defined the country’s strategic legal needs. On his appointment as Chief Justice on 11th April 2006, he maintained an unrelenting determination to uphold the rule of law, to build respect for the integrity of law, and to ensure a fair judicial process. He also tirelessly sought to promote cooperation among the judiciary, the bar, the legal service, as well as law academics. Chan Kang's initiatives as Chief Justice were a highly significant factor in building a judicial system in Singapore that is equal to the very best in the world.

Thank you. Thank you, Professor Yo. Please remain on stage with us. May I now invite Dr. Chan and Dr. Brown, together with SMU President Professor Dea, to come up on stage with us. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming them.

May we now call upon SMU Chancellor Mr. Y. Bangha to confer the honorary degrees. Sir, ladies and gentlemen, by the powers granted pursuant to the Singapore Management University Act, I hereby confer upon Dr. John Cely Brown the degree of Doctor of Information Systems and Dr. Chanet Kyong the degree of Doctor of Laws, and admit you to all their accompanying rights and privileges.

Thank you, Chancellor. Dr. John Cely Brown, if you please step forward. Professor Dea, may we invite you, with the assistance of Professor Steven Miller, to place the hood on Dr. John C. Brown. Thank you, Dr. John. May I invite you to take a step back? Thank you, gentlemen.

May I now ask Dr. Chan to step forward, please? Professor Dea, if you will do the honors for Dr. Chan, with the assistance of Professor Yu. Thank you, sir. Professor Dea, if you could please take a step back, thank you. Dr. Chan, please stay on stage with us.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. May we now invite Minister for Education Mr. Heng K. back on stage, please? Minister, may we invite you to present the honorary Doctorate of Laws to Dr. Chan Kyong? Thank you, Minister. Dr. Chan, please take a step back. Thank you, Dr. Brown. If you could please step forward, may we now invite the minister to present the honorary Doctorate of Information Systems to Dr. Brown?

Thank you, Minister. May we now invite everyone for a photograph on stage? Thank you, Minister, professors, Dr. Brown, and Dr. Chan. May we invite you back to your seats?