Following somewhat in the footsteps of NYU, which expanded its global footprint greatly two years ago when it opened a branch in Abu Dhabi, Yale University has also set it sights on the East. On Friday night, representatives from Yale and the National University of Singapore met in New Haven and signed a non-binding agreement to plan a college in Singapore that would be jointly operated by the two schools. The new institution is scheduled to open in 2013 and feature a Yale-style liberal-arts program and residential college system. While the governing board of the school will be comprised of half Yale and half NUS appointees, Yale will not take part in the granting of degrees, nor will it pay for the funding or construction of facilities (so as not to dilute the brand, or the endowment — seems like a pretty decent deal). “The liberal arts model is not the norm in most of the rest of the world, but there’s an increasing feeling in Asia that it’s giving the United States an edge in educating creative leaders,” University president Richard Levin told the Yale Daily News. “This college in Singapore could provide a way to influence all of Asia.”
Yale, Singapore plan new liberal arts college [Yale Daily News]
