The founding of SMU- As quoted from karpace's blog

Today, I have a tale of intrigue of Shakespearen pathos and Singaporean small-mindedness, it has sex, lust, backstabbing, politics and all that good stuff... And it involved the founding of that latest institution of higher education... the Singapore Management University...

I used to be good buddies with all the NUS higher-ups around the time when SMU was being founded. Used to know the Vice-Chancellor and several of the Business School professors quite well. And one day I was at dinner with them at that latest outrage of taxpayer funding, the NUS Alumi Club Restaurant.

B-School Professor: So you know why they're founding SMU?

Me: Because they wanted to make Singapore a hub for higher education in the region?

B-School Professor: NO!(Mirthless Wheezing Laughter at Foolish Mortal's Answer)



The true story is that one day a bunch of MIW were sitting around in the Vice-Chancellor's place having a drink. And one of them lamented that his super-smart, ultra-perfect son had qualified for NUS engineering but wanted to go to NUS business instead. And NUS business cut-off point (another national secret) had surged upwards in recent years.

And the group of them chatted about this phenomenon of all these bright kids going into something as stupid Undergrad Business... instead of that holiest of holies ENGINEERING.

And they decided to do something about it.

Vice-Chancellor: But how are you going to do that? You can't ban them from applying to the business school if they have grades good enough for any of the other faculties...

MIW: Muahahahahahaha. Just wait and see...



So they decided to that in order to make NUS B-School less attractive to Singaporeans, they would have to destroy its brand. So NUS would have to lose its business school.

MIW: We'll set up another university.... Singapore Business School for Stupids Not Good Enough For Engineering... no too long.. how about Singapore Management University? And NUS won't have a business school, just like all those Ivy Leaguers in the US (except Wharton)

And so that was how it all started. But of course, the NUS B-School Profs did not want to move to SBSSNGEFE, so the MIW said, to be fair, NTU would also lose its B-School. Then all of Singapore would only have 1 business school...

But that bright idea didn't make it out the door either...

Why?

This is where it gets really interesting...

The NTU Dean pointed out... that if NTU lost its business school.... then all of a sudden.. you would have a gazillion male nerdy engineer dudes living in an ulu part of the island with no women at all...

No women = no babies = no future peasants!!!

And that was when the whole plan fell apart, so SMU was set up, there was plenty of debates whether Singapore was big enough for 3 B-schools.. And now SMU is probably the 1st choice for lots of smart kids who could have been engineers if they wanted too...