Professor Lily KongBBMPPA(P)FBA is a Singaporean geographer currently serving as president of Singapore Management University (SMU). A cultural geographer known for her work on urban transformation,religion and secularity in cities,and cultural policy,she is the first female Singaporean academic to helm a Singapore university.[1] Kong's leadership at SMU has focused on digital transformation,sustainability,and Asia-focused growth through the University’s SMU2025 and SMU2030 strategic plans.[2][3]
Kong graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a First Class BA (Hons) degree in Geography in 1986. She obtained a MA from NUS in 1988. She went on to complete a PhD in Geography at University College London in 1991.[7] Her doctoral research examined religion and place in Singapore,laying the foundation for her later research on urban cultural geography.[8][9]
A cultural geographer by training,[10] she became a faculty member of the NUS Department of Geography in 1991 and served as the Dean of NUS's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from 2000 to 2003. Kong went on to hold several further senior positions at the institution,including Dean of University Scholars Programme (2002–2005),Director of Asia Research Institute (2008–2014),and Vice-President (University &Global Relations). Later roles included Vice Provost (Education),Vice Provost (Academic Personnel) Acting Executive Vice President (Academic Affairs) of the Yale-NUS College,Director of the Asia Research Institute,and Vice-President (University and Global Relations).[6][11]
Kong oversaw aspects of NUS’s internationalisation,including the launch of Yale-NUS College (2011),which promotes liberal-arts education across Asia.[12]
In September 2015,Kong joined Singapore Management University (SMU) as Provost and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences.[13] At the start of 2019,she succeeded Belgian academic Arnoud De Meyer as President of SMU,becoming the first woman and also the first Singaporean academic to helm SMU.[14][5]
As President of SMU,Kong has focused on enhancing the quality of the university's students and faculty,developing educational programmes,growing the impact of the university's research,and reforming the university's sexual harassment policy.[14][15]
In September 2020,Kong was announced as one of the 25 outstanding female leaders in the Asia-Pacific region according to Forbes' list of 2020 Asia’s Power Businesswomen.[16]
SR Nathan Lecture Series
As the 15th S R Nathan Fellow,Kong delivered a lecture series in three parts on the evolving role of universities in shaping societal development.[17] Her first lecture illustrated the historical transformations of universities that reflected changing societal contexts. Her second lecture examined the concept of “Universities for the 100-Year Life”—the evolution of a university’s relevance and role as humanity confronts the high possibility of life expectancies stretching to 100 years. In her third and final lecture,Kong discussed the responsibility of universities—as a brain trust—to the world beyond their walls. She further addressed the challenges of misinformation,manipulation,and misconduct in research,but also,more optimistically,research that is creative,catalytic,and consequential.
Research and publications
Kong has served as an editor or member of international editorial advisory boards for over 15 journals,including Social and Cultural Geography and Dialogues in Human Geography. She is also a series editor of Pacific Rim Geographies:Studies on Contemporary Culture,Environment,Cities and Development (Routledge),Co-Chief Editor of the ARI-Springer Asia Series,and Book Series Advisor for The Politics of Popular Culture in Asia Pacific (University of Illinois Press and Hong Kong University Press). She also has 19 books and monographs to her name,as well as over 150 papers in international refereed journals and chapters in books.
Her research is situated in cultural and urban geography,predominantly focusing on how urban transformation,religion,and cultural practices shape the lived experience of Asian cities.[6][18][19] Kong’s early scholarship explored religion and place in urban settings,culminating in works such as The Sacred and the Secular:Religion and Politics in Singapore (1993) and Mental Images of the City (1999). These studies are regarded as seminal contributions to understanding cultural and urban geography in Southeast Asia. Her subsequent studies have explored cultural industries,heritage spaces,and creative economies in Asia,contributing to wider understanding of globalising Asian cities.[20] Her further work extended to the creative economy and the social meanings of urban development,including Arts,Culture and the Making of Global Cities (Edward Elgar,2015) and Religion and Space:Competition,Conflict and Violence in the Contemporary World (Bloomsbury,2016).
Reviews of her work in journals such as Urban Geography and Progress in Human Geography have noted her role in extending debates on Asian urbanism and in globalising the study of cultural economies.
Public engagement and leadership
Kong has been a member of Singapore’s Public Service Commission since 2009,a constitutional appointment responsible for senior-public-sector recruitment.
She currently chairs the World Cities Summit Knowledge Council.[21] She also serves on national and philanthropic boards including the Temasek Trust Limited Board of Directors,and the President’s Challenge Council.[22][23]
Awards
Professor Kong's scholarly contributions to cultural and urban geography have been internationally recognised. The Royal Geographical Society awarded her the Victoria Medal in 2024,citing her “conspicuous merit in research in urban,social and cultural geographies.”[24]
In 2025,she received the Business Times Sustainability Impact Award (Impact Leader of the Year) in recognition of her work advancing sustainability education and partnerships.[25]
She is also a recipient of the following awards:[5][6][13]
Singaporean awards
NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching Excellence Award
NUS Outstanding University Researcher Award
National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Award
↑" |title=Finding A Place: Lily Kong On Social And Cultural Geography |url=/mnt/data/251029_SMU_Wikipedia WIP.pdf |website=Asian Scientist |publisher=Asian Scientist Magazine |date=2016 |access-date=25 November 2025 }}
↑Kong, Lily; Urban Redevelopment Authority (Singapore) (2011). Conserving the Past, Creating the Future: Urban Heritage in Singapore. Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority. ISBN9789810873646.
↑[/mnt/data/251029_SMU_Wikipedia WIP.pdf "Media Factsheet: Global experts from WCS Knowledge Council to address urban challenges"] (PDF). World Cities Summit. Centre for Liveable Cities, Ministry of National Development Singapore. 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
↑[/mnt/data/251029_SMU_Wikipedia WIP.pdf "President's Challenge – Council Members: Lily Kong"] (PDF). President’s Challenge Singapore. Government of Singapore. Retrieved 25 November 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
↑[/mnt/data/251029_SMU_Wikipedia WIP.pdf "Royal Geographical Society – 2024 Medals and Awards"] (PDF). Royal Geographical Society. Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
↑[/mnt/data/251029_SMU_Wikipedia WIP.pdf "SMU president bags award for championing sustainability in university's DNA"] (PDF). The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
↑[/mnt/data/251029_SMU_Wikipedia WIP.pdf "Lily Kong – Fulbright Scholar Profile"] (PDF). Fulbright Scholars Directory. Institute of International Education. Retrieved 25 November 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
↑[/mnt/data/251029_SMU_Wikipedia WIP.pdf "Department of Geography – Milestones"] (PDF). Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore. National University of Singapore. Retrieved 25 November 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
↑[/mnt/data/251029_SMU_Wikipedia WIP.pdf "SMU President Professor Lily Kong elected as Foreign Fellow of the Geographical Society of China"] (PDF). QS GEN. QS Asia. 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
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