[8 September 2000]
Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan Announces SMU's Long-Term Plans

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan makes a visit to SMU's campus at Evans Road to hold a dialogue session with SMU's Board of Trustees and senior management, followed by a press conference on SMU's long-term plans. More specifically, Dr Tan's announcement detailed SMU's expansion into an Accountancy programme in 2001, followed by Information & Communications and Economics & Social Sciences soon after. He also stressed the importance of competition and collaboration among the three local universities in order to increase the overall standard of tertiary education in Singapore.

Upon his arrival, Dr Tan was enthusiastically greeted by SMU's Cheerleaders clad in blue and silver. This being his first visit of the Evans Road campus, he was brought on a tour of the two-storey building which included glimpses into a class held at the Media Theatre, the library and reading room.

The Class of 2000 was also officially presented the SMU flag by Dr Tan. The flag saw its maiden raising as a symbolic gesture of the beginning of student activities under the banner of SMU.