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  TRIBUTE TO
PROFESSOR RAYSON HUANG
 
  Professor Teh Hoon Heng, 5 August 2000  
 

Professor Huang has returned many, many times after he left Nantah. No former Vice Chancellor comes back to visit Nantah as often as Professor Huang does.

Nantah occupies an important place in his heart. It is because Nantah reminds him many happy memories. How he made a round trip campus walk every evening to make sure everything was fine. How he entertained new students playing his little violin at various welcoming nights....

I know Professor Huang very well. It was he who encouraged me to serve Nantah after its reorganisation in 1966. I was then lecturing at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur and he was the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University.

I got a phone call from the registrar of Nantah to come back to help. After I sent in my resignation, Professor Huang called me to his office and persuaded me to stay. The head of Department of Mathematics had told him that I did an excellent job, students liked my lectures and I got on well with all other staff of the Department.

After knowing my reason for leaving, Professor Huang asked me what kind of offer I got. I told him I did not know and only got a telephone call from the registrar to serve Nantah. He was so surprised that I decided to resign because of a phone call without a written offer or even a letter. What kind of stupidity or loyalty is this? Suddenly he stood up and laughed and said: " I strongly support your decision to go back and help Nantah. If only other Nantah graduates are like you, then Nantah has hope!"

Two years later Mr Ong Pang Boon, then the Minister of Education of Singapore called me to his office and told me that he was thinking to invite Professor Huang to be the next Vice Chancellor of Nantah. He was not sure whether Professor Huang would be interested to come because it was certainly more comfortable for Professor Huang at the University of Malaya. I told Mr Ong the above story and believed he would come. I was very delighted that Professor Huang became the next Vice Chancellor of Nantah.

Under various constraints, Professor Huang made remarkable achievements and great contributions to Nantah. During his three years of service as the Vice Chancellor of Nantah, he persistently hold the torch and restored our fate and confidence in Nantah at very difficult times.

Professor Huang did a great job to boost the morale within Nantah, raise the academic standards and made the name of Nantah better known internationally. Among Professor Huang's long list of achievements, I specially mention the following:

Professor Huang established the College of Graduate Studies with four research institutes so that many of the Nantah graduates who could not go overseas for further studies were able to fulfill their dreams of doing a Master or a Ph.D. degree at Nantah.

Professor Huang with the help of his Deputy Mr. Lu Yaw also established the Lee Kong Chian Computer Centre. This Centre later became the Department of Computer Science with a very fine Nantah graduate Professor Hsu Loke Soo as its Head of department. The Department produced many computer professionals helping to lay the foundation for the culture of Information Technology in Singapore.

Without doubt Professor Huang is one of the many great friends of Nantah. I fondly remember his period as Vice Chancellor as the Golden Era of Nantah.

I was sadden but understand that Professor Huang had to leave Nantah in 1971. Mr Ong Pang Boon was very sorry and Nantah Council knew that it was a great loss for Nantah.

I wish Professor Hung well and happy retirement in Hong Kong and extend my cordial invitation to him to visit Vancouver.

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