Yale-NUS College library and Cendana College buildings behind the greenery.

The History of the Campus

Traditionally, liberal arts colleges are residential, meaning that the students live and study on campus. However, as Yale-NUS was an entirely new college, the campus had not yet been built when the first students arrived in 2013.

In this story, we follow the history of the construction of the campus from groundbreaking in 2012 to the inauguration in 2015. We start our journey by looking back to the College’s earliest years, before the campus was constructed, to see how and where the inaugural students, faculty and staff lived and worked.

Beginnings at RC4

While the Yale-NUS College campus was under construction, the first two batches of students were housed in Residential College 4 (affectionately known as RC4).

Situated next to the new campus construction site, RC4 was a temporary home remembered fondly by many of the students, staff and faculty who lived and worked there in close proximity for the College’s first two years.

A postcard of Residential College 4 (RC4) taken from the view of campus outside, there’s a heading of “Greetings from RC4” written in orange.

At that point we were in RC4, and so we were just in one building and there was just this little sign that said Yale-NUS.

When Laura Severin, Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid, first saw RC4 she was shocked by its small size.

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A postcard of Residential College 4 (RC4) taken from the view of campus outside, there’s a heading of “Greetings from RC4” written in orange.

Building a Community

RC4’s small size did have some advantages, as it allowed the 150 students, 50 faculty and 65 staff to get to know each other and start to form a community.

A big group of students in blue or red shirts inside a multi-purpose hall during Singaporientation 2014.
A group of students in a laboratory conducting an electrical experiment, with a male professor in a blue shirt is watching over one of the groups.
Laura Severin giving a speech on stand with microphones, a blue Yale-NUS College flag in the background.
Oral History Interview

Laura Severin describes how the inaugural community blossomed at RC4.

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A male lecturer in a blue shirt is giving a speech in a rector’s common, several people including students and professors are sitting on sofas and listening.

It was a very kind of laissez-faire college because [there were] so few students.

The small community allowed for a more relaxed approach, and also facilitated direct communications, as noted by Executive Vice President (Academic Affairs) (and later the College’s second president) Tan Tai Yong.

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A dining hall filled with students eating during a formal event.

By the time we got to May of 2015 we were pretty jam-packed into our temporary location at RC4.

Inaugural Yale-NUS President Pericles Lewis on how the student population—over 300 in the second year—had outgrown RC4.

Pericles Lewis in a suit and an orange tie.

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A town hall is held in a multi-purpose hall by Pericles Lewis in blue shirt while several students sit on chairs or the floor. A picture of the College campus concept is projected on a white curtain.

It didn’t feel as cozy, it wasn’t everybody in one building, now we’re separated.

With the new campus complete by mid-2015, it was time to leave RC4. However, as Laura Severin notes, some of the students were concerned that the unique RC4 community would be lost.

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A male lecturer in a blue shirt is giving a speech in a rector’s common, several people including students and professors are sitting on sofas and listening.A dining hall filled with students eating during a formal event.A town hall is held in a multi-purpose hall by Pericles Lewis in blue shirt while several students sit on chairs or the floor. A picture of the College campus concept is projected on a white curtain.

RC4 Memories

A large group of students having fun at a multi-purpose hall during the end of semester dinner while a male student is performing on stage. There are red and white flowers between the stage and the dance floor.

For all its drawbacks, RC4 played a significant part in the early years of Yale-NUS, providing a temporary home for the first students while the new campus was being constructed.

Its small size might have been inconvenient at times, but it also allowed for the creation of a close-knit and vibrant community, one that was ready to move on to a new home and to the next stage of the Yale-NUS story.

A group of 7 students in a small classroom, working on their computers and having fun.

The Construction of the Yale-NUS Campus

The construction of the Yale-NUS campus began in July 2012 with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by guest of honour Singapore’s Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong.

(From left to right) Tan Chorh Chuan, Pericles Lewis, Lee Hsien Loong, Mdm Kay Kuok and Richard Levin standing on stage with a “Yale NUS College” written blue wall in the background. They have a long, black table in front of them and have a bouquet of red-yellow flowers each in front.
Tan Chorh Chuan, Lee Hsien Loong, and two more male professors are looking at a poster of the auditorium on a window.

The Construction Process

At over 63,000 square metres, and consisting of five residential towers, multiple venues including lecture theatres, classrooms and laboratories, performance spaces, workshops, dining halls, a library, sports facilities and offices, as well as extensive grounds, constructing the campus was a major undertaking.

Some delays were caused by shortages of foreign labour and environmental factors, such as haze pollution and a major dengue outbreak that stopped work for five weeks in August 2014.

We had hoped to move into this new campus in January of 2015, but we wound up moving in in May to August of 2015.

Professor Pericles Lewis describes delays to the construction of the campus.

Pericles Lewis in a suit and an orange tie.

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A time-lapse GIF that showcases the process of the construction of Yale-NUS College buildings.

Despite the delays, the campus soon began to take shape.

A time-lapse GIF that showcases the process of the construction of Yale-NUS College buildings.

The Construction Workers

A photo of a construction of a building, with metal skeleton and five construction workers on site.

The workers who built the campus were mainly from China, India and Bangladesh.

CAMPOS (Committee for Appreciating and Meeting People on Site) was a student organisation dedicated to forging links with the construction workers. They worked with the campus construction firm, Ssangyong Engineering and Construction, to organise social events to thank the workers for their efforts.

Two CAMPOS members (a male student in glasses and a black, printed t-shirt and another male student in glasses and a grey-black top) holding a sign about CAMPOS.
A big crowd of construction workers enjoying  a Lunar New Year dinner organised for them.

Parties held for workers by CAMPOS included a Lunar New Year dinner in February 2014.

(Left) A yellow poster of the CAMPOS Carnival organised for the construction workers with details written in English, Mandarin, Tamil and Bahasa. (Right) A photo of two construction workers participating in a carnival game is on the right.

The CAMPOS Carnival was held in April 2015, with food and games.

A big crowd of construction workers enjoying  a Lunar New Year dinner organised for them.(Left) A yellow poster of the CAMPOS Carnival organised for the construction workers with details written in English, Mandarin, Tamil and Bahasa. (Right) A photo of two construction workers participating in a carnival game is on the right.
A black and white poster for a legacy project for the construction workers with a picture of the construction workers in the middle. The time, date, location and other details are present.

Students also organised The Legacy Project, an exhibition held during the inauguration of the campus in October 2015 to celebrate the over-1200 people who had been involved in the campus construction.

A group of 12 workers that worked at the construction of Yale-NUS College buildings in blue shirts and with food in their hands during an exhibition to celebrate their efforts, “THANK” written in the background with collaged pictures.

While we celebrate our beautiful new school, let us remember what came before.

Our team realised that the archives of photography, film, and interviews had much to offer not only in raising the technical understanding of our campus, but also in telling the stories of the people who had put so much into building the space we now call home… The curating team felt that it was apt to pay a tribute during the campus inauguration weekend.

— Legacy Project member, Tan Heng Yeng (Class of 2018)

A black and white poster for a legacy project for the construction workers with a picture of the construction workers in the middle. The time, date, location and other details are present.A group of 12 workers that worked at the construction of Yale-NUS College buildings in blue shirts and with food in their hands during an exhibition to celebrate their efforts, “THANK” written in the background with collaged pictures.

Topping Out Ceremony

The main construction period concluded in early 2014, with a topping out ceremony held on 10 March 2014 on the roof of Residential College 2 (Elm College).

Eight important figures of Yale-NUS College wearing helmets and holding shovels on a red stage during the top up ceremony of Yale-NUS College. There is a blue banner for the ceremony name and date in the background.
An animated GIF of Yale-NUS College campus from top-view.

Inauguration of
the Campus

Construction was completed in May 2015, with the official inauguration of the campus taking place on 12 October 2015 with guest of honour PM Lee.

A page of a magazine article on the inauguration of the campus.
Triangle behind a mountain range made with structural grid like texture

Preparations for the Inauguration Ceremony, and PM Lee touring the new campus.

A New Community of Learning

Professor Pericles Lewis chronicles the background to the inauguration of the Yale-NUS College campus.

Gift Presentations

President of Yale University, Peter Salovey, and NUS President Tan Chorh Chuan present gifts to the College.

A Unique Experience for Students

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong describes Yale-NUS’ unique contribution to the Singaporean educational landscape.