Women's Advocate to Speak in Kahn Project
part of the Kahn Liberal Arts Institute’s long-term project “Why
Educate Women? Global Perspectives on Equal Opportunity,” Hoon
Eng Khoo, associate professor of biochemistry at Yong Loo
Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore,
will speak at Smith on Monday, Oct. 18.
Hoon Eng Khoo ’73
Khoo’s lecture, “Educating
Young Women to Close the Gender Gap—a Personal Journey,” will
take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Neilson Browsing Room.
a Smith alumna, Class of 1973, has been active her entire
career in advocating for women. She served as the acting
vice-chancellor and provost of the Asian University for Women
from 2007 to this year, is a founding member of AWAM, a Malaysian
advocacy group, and participates in the Association of Women
for Action and Research (AWARE) and SAFE, a support group
for family and friends of LGBT people in Singapore. She also
serves on the Smith College Board of Trustees.
In her lecture,
Khoo will describe her journey from a village in Malaysia
to her current position at the University of Singapore, as
well as the influences that have shaped her passion for women’s
education. She will also discuss the important role she believes
all-female schools will play in increasing the number of
women scientists, and will share her vision for an Asia where
girls grow up to lead in academia, business and political
“Why Educate Women?” is organized by Susan Bourque, the Esther B. Wiley Professor
of Government, and Rosetta Cohen, the Sylvia Dlugasch Bauman Professor of Education
and Child Study. The project analyzes the history and sociology of women’s education
in the United States and worldwide, with attention to questions such as: How
have women leaders addressed the issue of broader access to educational opportunity?
How does religion impact women’s education worldwide? What is the future of women’s
education and what role can Smith play in its evolution?
For more information,