Speech by Duke President - NewsHub - National University of ...

National University of Singapore (NUS) Commencement 20114 July 2011Address byProfessor Richard H. Brodhead, President, Duke UniversityNUS Chancellor, President S R NathanMinister for Education, Mr Heng Swee KeatNUS Pro-Chancellors and members of the Board of TrusteesPresident Tan Chorh ChuanFaculty, graduands, parents and familiesI am honored to be with you today at this Commencement ceremony.I bring with me warm greetings from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, whereour faculty and students rejoice with you at this splendid occasion and this importantmilestone in our partnership with the National University of Singapore.Last month, Duke University had the privilege of awarding an honorary degree to yourpresident, Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, in recognition of the extraordinary leadership hehas provided to Singapore and the world in academic medicine. As part of ourCommencement festivities, Prof Tan spoke to the graduating class of the Duke Schoolof Medicine, and I am pleased to have been invited to Singapore to return the favor.As Prof Tan has reminded us, this is a double celebration – 100 years since the firstmedical school graduation in Singapore, and the very first graduation of the Duke-NUSGraduate Medical School. It is a proud day for medicine in Singapore, and DukeUniversity shares your pride.As I look out upon the pioneering class of the Graduate Medical School, I remember theoriginal vision for the School. For over one hundred years, Singapore has had anoutstanding medical school, training doctors to serve the nation. To develop a new andcomplementary model, the Government of Singapore surveyed other medical schoolsaround the world and determined that Duke University School of Medicine, with itssignature third year of research and its strong record of producing clinical scientists,would be a suitable partner. The Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School was imagined asa complement to the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine that would build on its tradition ofexcellence. In fact, the Khoo Teck Puat building for the Graduate Medical School standsnext to the historic College of Medicine building, the original home of medical educationin Singapore. The message is clear: only a strong foundation can make newdevelopments possible.1

Today, we see the fruits of our collective labors. It takes passionate commitment onboth sides to turn an idea into reality. It takes not only vision but hard work from allparties to turn a Memorandum of Understanding into a graduating class. Thisgraduation is a wonderful opportunity to pause to consider what has beenaccomplished. I would like to offer my deepest personal appreciation to all the facultyand staff who have made this venture such an unqualified success.And yet, we should not be surprised! The world admires Singapore for its ability to growand develop. What this nation has been able to accomplish, to transform itself from thirdworld to first world in one generation, is a story many nations would love to emulate.The achievements of the Biomedical Science Initiative, under the visionary leadership oftoday’s honorary degree recipient Mr. Philip Yeo, are known around the world. We atDuke have been delighted to see the development of the Yale-NUS liberal arts college,and we applaud Singapore for taking another step to re-imagine education for yournation and the region. Most importantly, the profits of these ventures are plowed backinto the home soil. We have been heartened to see that the GMS has been able torecruit talented Singaporean students and faculty back to Singapore.I know that the students have learned a tremendous amount in their time with us. I askmyself what has Duke learned in five years? Our researchers have gained knowledge ofconditions and disease patterns that are different from the ones we see in the U.S. Ourexperts in public health and health services research have been able to see first-handhow the Singapore health care system provides high quality care for its population whilekeeping costs low. Health care in Singapore makes up about 4% of your gross domesticproduct, while in the U.S. it is over 16%. We apparently have a great deal to learn fromyou.We’ve learned new ways of conducting medical education. The TeamLEAD model oflearning, in which students take greater responsibility for engaging with the material,has been so successful in Singapore that we’ve imported it back to Durham. Theevidence has been glimpsed in the students’ impressive performance on the UnitedStates Medical Licensing Examination and we look forward to seeing further evidence intheir professional careers.There have also been unique and surprising learning experiences. For the last threeyears, the students of Duke-NUS and the Yong Loo Lin School have worked together tocreate Camp Simba – a camp for children who have a parent with cancer. The ideacame about when Duke-NUS students were taking a class on Palliative Care. Inaddition to spending time in the lecture theater, the library, and the laboratory, studentsconducted home visits, meeting with cancer patients who were receiving hospice careat home. As they spent time with the patients, the students became aware of a need forgreater support for their children, and an idea was born. This academic experience wastransformative – it spilled over into the students’ lives. Innovative teaching resulted in acollaborative project to put knowledge in service to society, demonstrating that powerfulthings can happen when we come together.2

Finally, in this path-breaking collaboration between East and West, we have learnedfrom Asian values. On this graduation day, it is particularly appropriate to invoke theAsian value of honoring teachers and parents, and I would like to say a few final wordson that score.To the faculty of both medical schools: By teaching these students, and just asimportant, by mentoring and serving as examples of professionalism, you have effectedan amazing metamorphosis: you have turned young men and women into doctors.Medicine in many ways is an apprenticeship, and you have given of yourselves to bringa new generation into your honorable profession. Let’s take a moment to say thank youto our faculty.To the parents and families: we know that without your support, these students wouldnot be sitting here today. We acknowledge your sacrifices, big and small, rememberthose who are not with us today, and hope that these soon-to-be graduates will alwaysmake you as proud as you are today. Let us express our thanks to the parents andfamilies.Finally, to the Classes of 2011 of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School: I hope that being part of a University that fosters suchpioneering educational ventures has helped you to absorb some of these institutionallessons into your own lives. Some of these lessons would be: Don’t be afraid to try anew approach. Connect with people. Collaborate. Never stop learning. Be thankful tothose who have helped you along the way. If you apply these lessons to your own livesas doctors, I know that Singapore, and the world, will be very fortunate indeed.Congratulations!3