Mr Arthur Yap Hock Seng
Bachelor of Arts in English Literature (Class of 1963)
1940 - 2021

A distinguished alumnus who selflessly contributed to the National University of Singapore, Mr Arthur Yap Hock Seng passed away in Vancouver, Canada on 24 March 2021. He was 80 years of age.

Mr Yap graduated from the then University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 1963. He worked first with the First National City Bank of New York (now CitiBank), and subsequently as a Shipping Executive with a large British Trading Company, Harrison and Crosfield. In December 1967, Mr Yap emigrated to Vancouver, Canada in December with his young family, where he has lived for 50 years.

In Vancouver, he was active in community work and was the Vice President of the Vancouver-Singapore Club for nine years. He also served as the founding Chairman of the NUS Alumni Vancouver Chapter from 2004 to 2014. 

A strong believer in globalisation, international partnerships and connections, Mr Yap travelled to many NUS Alumni Chapters in the world (including Boston, USA; Shanghai, China; Sydney, Australia; Wellington, New Zealand; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) to encourage overseas NUS alumni to return to NUS Singapore, and mentored many generations of NUS alumni.

Mr Yap was appointed to the first NUS Alumni Advisory Board in 2006 and served for four years, till 2010. He received the NUS Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2007 and the Distinguished Arts and Social Sciences Alumni Award in 2018 for his unwavering dedication and steadfast support for the University.

Mr Yap is survived by his wife and three children.