UniSIM chancellor Cham Tao Soon retires

The founding chancellor and trustee board chief of SIM University (UniSIM), Professor Cham Tao Soon (above), has retired after about nine years at the helm.

Succeeding him in both roles last Friday is Mr Gerard Ee, who stepped down from his post as chairman of the SIM governing council, which oversees governance of the SIM Group.

He, in turn, is succeeded by veteran executive search specialist Tan Soo Jin.

The Cambridge-educated Prof Cham was a key figure in setting up UniSIM in 2005.

It offers its own degree programmes, targeting mainly adult learners, under a charter from the Education Ministry.

He was appointed UniSIM's chancellor in 2006.

UniSIM president Professor Cheong Hee Kiat said at the time that Prof Cham's appointment was well-deserved recognition of his contribution to tertiary education.

Yesterday, the university said in a statement that Prof Cham was "ahead of his time" in mandating the college to focus on e-learning as a primary mode of lesson delivery.

"This has strengthened the 'anytime, anywhere' offering of UniSIM's programmes and provided enhancement to students' learning," it said.

Prior to heading UniSIM, Prof Cham was president of Nanyang Technological University from 1981 to 2002. He led the university's expansion of programme offerings - from engineering to other fields such as business and accountancy.

Prof Cham's successor, Mr Ee, is active in the social service, academic and business sectors. An accountant by training, he was named the new president of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants last month.

Mr Ee is also chairman of the Council for Third Age, a government-funded group that promotes active ageing.

He was also chairman of the Public Transport Council.

leepearl@sph.com.sg

This article was published on May 20 in The Straits Times.

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