Professor Danny Quah, dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, to step down on June 30

SINGAPORE - Professor Danny Quah will be stepping down as dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) on June 30 after seven years.

Prof Quah will begin his sabbatical in July, after which he will remain as Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics at the school in the National University of Singapore (NUS).

In an e-mail sent to LKYSPP alumni on June 25, the school said that Prof Quah will “resume his scholarly work on the intersection of geopolitics and international economics in the new world order” after he steps down from his post.

“NUS and the LKYSPP appreciate his dedicated service during his tenure as dean, particularly in raising the academic profile of the school, and strengthening our alumni and student engagement,” it said.

He will be succeeded by Associate Professor Leong Ching, who will be appointed acting dean on July 1.

Prof Leong, a leading scholar in the field of behavioural public policy, joined the school in 2014 and will serve concurrently as acting dean and vice-provost of student life. She will be supported by the current members of the LKYSPP deanery while a search for a new dean is under way, said the school.

Before becoming LKYSPP dean in 2018, Prof Quah was already a well-known economist. Born in Penang, Malaysia, he studied economics at Princeton and earned his doctorate from Harvard in 1986.

He began his academic career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was an assistant professor of economics from 1986 to 1991, before moving to the London School of Economics (LSE).

He remained at LSE for more than two decades, where he served as head of the economics department from 2006 to 2009, and was the founding director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre. He also served on Malaysia’s National Economic Advisory Council from 2009 to 2011. 

He returned from London in 2016 and joined LKYSPP to pursue research in and contribute to policy development on international economic relations, income inequality and economic growth, NUS said in an update on leadership appointments on its website on June 25.

“Under his stewardship, the school has strengthened its position as a leader and authority in public policy research and education, with distinct focus on Asia’s unique challenges and opportunities,” it said.

Prof Leong said: “The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy is built on a belief in the transformational power of policy ideas. I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue producing these global public goods so as to inform government and public decisions on the most pressing problems of our time.”

The university added that Professor Tulika Mitra will also be appointed the new dean for its school of computing from July 1, taking over from Professor Tan Kian Lee.

NUS president Tan Eng Chye said: “I am deeply grateful to Kian Lee and Danny for their leadership and service. A home-grown talent, Kian Lee is an outstanding researcher, data scientist and educator who has steered the faculty from a small department in its early years into one of the world’s top and highly competitive computing schools. 

“Danny is an eminent economist who has enabled LKYSPP to strengthen and anchor its position as a global thought leader, advancing impactful policy solutions and training policymakers for Singapore, the region and beyond.”

“As they return to academia, I look forward to their continued contributions to NUS in inspiring future generations of researchers and students to shape the future of technology and serve the greater good of society,” Professor Tan said.