As he moves into his new role, Mr Bernard Toh (Architecture ’84), the outgoing Director, Office of Alumni Relations (OAR), NUS, looks back on challenges faced and triumphs achieved.
Anyone who successfully led a team during the pandemic can certainly claim a badge of honour. In the case of Mr Bernard Toh, navigating this is just the latest in a long line of achievements spanning a stellar career.
Though trained as an architect at NUS, Mr Toh chose to join the Republic of Singapore Air Force instead — but even there, he tapped on his roots. “I left Architecture only to build two museums,” he shares. “I was instrumental in building the Air Force Museum in Paya Lebar in the late 90s.” Later on, he was also deeply involved in the establishment and building of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at NUS. “I must say that my training definitely came in very handy when I had to lead both these projects”.
As Director of OAR, Mr Toh’s job took him around the world — from Auckland to Vancouver — as he sought to reinforce alumni ties and build the NUS stature as a leading global university. But even as this fulfilling journey comes to a close, he is not about ride off into the sunset just yet. “I will be returning to NUS President’s Office to do special projects,” he reveals. This, in fact, marks a return to his previous job prior to the OAR appointment, and an opportunity to do more good work. “I will turn 63 later this year,” says the father of three adult children (a son and two daughters). “I hope to continue making meaningful contributions to NUS for another two years. My plan is dedicate more time to smell the roses once I reach 65.” Read on, and you’ll see he means to take this statement quite literally.
You served as Director of OAR through the pandemic – did that take a toll on alumni relations?
The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on everything and everyone, including alumni relations here at NUS. In early 2020, when news broke out that there was a SARS-like virus — only more serious — going around, everyone got worried and became very careful. When the gravity of the situation became clear and lockdowns became necessary, face-to-face human interactions came to a standstill. This brought alumni relations to a grinding halt here at NUS, at least for a while. I recall that in April and May 2020, we were in limbo for a couple of reasons. First, we were not entirely sure what we had to do and secondly, we were hoping (against hope) that this health crisis would be short-lived. By the third month, when it became clear that the situation was here to stay for a while, my team and I kicked into high gear.
How did you and your team rise to the challenges?
We decided that we would go into the digital space to do alumni relations. We were unfamiliar with Zoom back then but soon became quite adept at using it to conduct webinars, networking sessions, talks and even sing-along sessions online. The pandemic forced us into the digital space. Before that, the digital space was viewed as an alternative option — a last resort or complementary channel. It has now became a mainstay option and norm. Today, many of our programmes are done in hybrid mode. The pandemic forced all of us out of our comfort zones. We discovered a new, virtual, space, and gained new skills to do relationship management and engagement.
What would you consider to be your biggest achievement, or proudest moment at OAR?
I am not sure if it is right to call it my ‘biggest achievement’ but three months after I arrived in July 2016, I got a good sense of what needed strategic attention. There were two areas; knowledge of our alumni family and how well we were engaging our alumni. The first area had to do with our alumni database. The previous database, called the Integrated Alumni Database System (IADS), had almost run its course. The previous vendor, Oracle, informed us, in late 2016, that technical support would cease by end-2018. This gave us the opportunity to move to a new database, the BlackBaud Constituent Relationship Management (BBCRM) system, and more importantly improve from the previous system. We invested three years (2017-2019) into shaping the new database system, and thereafter transferring the data of more than 300,000 alumni into it. We then spent the next 18 months cleaning and tidying it up. The alumni database is a key foundation stone. From the outset, I recognised how critical this foundation stone is, and I am proud — albeit quietly — to have contributed towards shaping and strengthening it.
At the same time, I was working on another parallel initiative to help us measure how well we
were engaging our alumni. I consulted and spoke to many other more experienced alumni relations professionals around the world and eventually stumbled upon an instrument called “Alumni Engagement Metrics”. Simply put, this instrument measures alumni engagement in four areas; Philanthropy, Volunteerism, Experiential and Communications. We added a fifth area – Lifelong Learning. Although this is still a work-in-progress, I am happy to have introduced a way to help us know how effective we are in the engagement work we do here at NUS. I will leave it to those who carry on from here to refine and fine-tune this instrument to sharpen it further.
What was the most personally enriching aspect of your time as Director of OAR? And what will you miss the most?
Alumni relations is about relationship-building. Undoubtedly, this is the most satisfying and enriching aspect of the role. I am deeply grateful and thankful for all the people and alumni I have met here in Singapore, in the region and across the globe. Everyone I have met has taught and given me something. I hope I have returned in some measure. This is what I will miss most – meeting, interacting and learning from the diverse range of people that one encounters in this role.
What are your hopes for the NUS alumni community, both in Singapore and abroad?
My hope is a simple one – that the NUS Alumni Community will grow from strength to strength. I have always believed and preached that alumni groups must be self-organising, self-sufficient and self-sustaining. I have witnessed such growth in several of our alumni groups. This is a good and encouraging sign.
What would be your message to the current batch graduating students?
Have a dream, chase it. Be alert to opportunities and be brave – seize them when they present themselves.
Will your new role afford you more time to pursue your passions — and what would those be?
I have found a new love/ hobby – gardening. I hope to delve more into this area and grow home-grown edibles. I have already started to reorganise the pocket-sized garden that I am blessed with!