Pity if hidden gems remain hidden

By Zhen Ming


SWEDEN'S Prime Minister Olof Palme died in 1986 in Stockholm at the hands of an assassin.

Back then, his murder in the middle of Stockholm's downtown shocked the world. (Political assassinations, until then, were virtually unheard of in Scandinavia.)

Mr Palme was born into an upper-class, conservative family in Sweden in 1927. Nevertheless, he still required a scholarship to study at the pricey Kenyon College (my alma mater in Gambier, Ohio), graduating with a BA in 1948.

At Kenyon, Mr Palme was an excellent student, earning all As in his major subjects (economics and political science). He was also a member of Kenyon's first varsity football squad. And, like me, he washed the college president's car for pocket money.

After graduation, Mr Palme spent three months hitchhiking his way through the US with only US$300 (S$450) in his pocket.

Mr Palme later said that what he heard and saw on that US trip - the deep economic inequality and racial segregation - influenced his political and social ideals.

Around the time when Mr Palme was still prime minister of Sweden, one Barack Obama was enrolled, on a college scholarship, at Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialisation in international relations.

Mr Obama then graduated with a BA from Columbia in 1983 and later entered Harvard Law School in late 1988 (here again, on another college scholarship).

He gained national media attention when he was elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Seventeen years after graduating with a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, Mr Obama is set to be the 44th president of the United States.

Generations of outstanding men (and women) like Mr Palme and Mr Obama have all benefited from the generosity of the privately-funded US higher educational system.

For years, it all seemed so simple - donations would first roll in, the booming stock market would then multiply them, and the college endowments would then swell.

At the wealthiest schools, the millions would become billions, and even small colleges (like Kenyon) would start to amass sizeable fortunes.

But with Wall Street's recent meltdown, all bets are off.

With most endowments predicted to plummet by 30 per cent this academic year, many US universities are downsizing or even shelving long-term plans.

Even the wealthiest schools - among them Harvard, MIT and Dartmouth - suddenly find themselves in the unfamiliar situation of trimming budgets and freezing hiring to offset heavy investment losses.

In September, Harvard University announced that its endowment, the country's largest, had risen to a staggering US$36.9 billion as of 30 Jun.

But just last week, in a stark sign of the economic times, Harvard said the value of its investments had plunged 22 per cent, or about US$8b, in the past four months. It anticipates a further 30 percent loss by next June.

Now, many other top universities worldwide (including those in Singapore), while declining to provide specifics, have also publicly acknowledged substantial losses.

My hope for 2009 - that this swift reversal of university fortunes won't hinder a future Olof Palme or another Barack Obama from maximising his or her potential.


Source: The New Paper, Fri 12 Dec 2008