Shih Choon Fong

Who is Shih Choon Fong?

Professor Shih Choon Fong is the former president of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and a renowned fracture mechanics expert. Before joining KAUST as Founding President in December 2008, he was president of the National University of Singapore for 9 years and has been widely acknowledged for creating the University’s research-intensive focus with an entrepreneurial dimension, as well as for NUS’ elevated global reputation. Drawing from his experiences abroad, Shih institutionalized a performance- and market-based evaluation and compensation system for academics. Shih also added more flexibility and responsiveness to the rigid British-based Singapore higher education system by implementing new teaching and grading methodologies from the American system.

Prof. Shih was a key driver for the formation of the International Alliance of Research Universities, and led the Association of Pacific Rim Universities for four years. He was the founding chair of the Governing Board of the APRU World Institute and served on national-level committees such as the Economic Review Committee, which crafted wide-ranging strategies for the re-making of Singapore.