For nearly two decades, UNC Geography has enjoyed a close relationship with faculty and students at the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Our joint degree program has been a success and we have benefitted from both short and extended exchanges of faculty and students between both universities. Students have graduated with joint degrees from UNC and NUS, and several faculty members have joint research projects and close collaborations with colleagues at NUS.
One such colleague who some of you may have met on her visits to Chapel Hill or on your visits to NUS is Professor Brenda Yoh. Professor Yoh has taught and carried out research at the NUS Department of Geography for more than 30 years. She is currently the Raffles Professor of Social Sciences, Director of Humanities and Social Science Research at the NUS Office of the Deputy President, and she leads the Asian Migration Cluster at the Asia Research Institute in NUS. She has published 35 books and written more than 230 journal articles.
In July 2021, Professor Yoh was elected to the British Academy and in October she was awarded the prestigious Vautrin Lud Prize – colloquially known as the ‘Nobel Prize’ for Geography. Named after a 16th century French scholar credited with naming the New World ‘America’ after Amerigo Vespucci, the award is given to geographers for outstanding achievement in the field. The award was presented in early October at the International Geography Festival in Saint-des-Vosges, France.
We congratulate Professor Yoh on these achievements and on a distinguished career of service to Geography and to her students.