Honouring an educator’s calling: a son’s gift to future generations
The Estate of Mr Lee Pong-Chih Victor has given $1.5 million to establish the Lee Sheng Yi Scholarship at NTU, honouring his late father’s legacy in education and supporting future generations of students.
By Yee Wei Zhen
Education was a thread that ran through two generations of the Lee family. The late Dr Lee Sheng Yi taught at Nanyang University, a predecessor institution of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU), and later at the National University of Singapore (NUS). His son, Mr Lee Pong-Chih Victor, dedicated his own career to education as a secondary school teacher.
Some 20 years ago, Victor set out how he wanted his estate to be used: to support education and honour his father.
Following Victor’s passing three years ago at the age of 70, those wishes are now being fulfilled through a $1.5 million gift to NTU to establish the Lee Sheng Yi Scholarship, which will support up to four Singaporean undergraduates each year.
NTU Chief Development Officer Ms See E’jin presenting a token of appreciation to Mr Mok Kim Terng, one of the executors of Mr Victor Lee’s estate. (Photo credit: The Straits Times)
An economist and educator
Dr Lee Sheng Yi studied at Yenching University in China before earning an MSc at the University of Cambridge and a PhD at the then University of Singapore.
A well-known economist in Singapore, he was a prolific writer on monetary and banking issues, Singapore’s industrial development, and international finance.
At Nanyang University, Dr Lee headed the Department of Industrial and Business Management before moving to NUS. Alongside his research and writing, he shared his knowledge with many students over the course of his academic career.
A bequest shaped by family
Victor’s bequest reflected the institutions and causes closely connected to his father’s life. His will also provided $1.5 million to NUS, his father’s other academic home.
A further $500,000 was left to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. According to Mr Mok Kim Terng, one of the executors of Victor’s estate, this gift was inspired by Dr Lee’s experience of financial hardship while growing up in Sichuan, China. Victor wanted to help young people in Singapore facing financial difficulties in pursuing their education.
Mr Mok first got to know Victor at St John’s – St Margaret’s Church. Together with a family friend, he has since carried out the wishes set out in Victor’s will.
A legacy that continues through students
At NTU, the Lee Sheng Yi Scholarship will support up to four Singaporean undergraduates each year, recognising students with strong academic achievements and giving them opportunities to pursue their aspirations at the University.
“We are deeply grateful to the late Mr Lee Pong-Chih Victor for this meaningful bequest. The gift does more than commemorate his father’s life in education. It carries that legacy forward through the students whose futures will be shaped by their generosity,” says Ms See E’jin, Chief Development Officer at NTU.
