Former Higher Education DG appointed vice-chancellor of UCSI University

PETALING JAYA: Prof Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir (pic) has been appointed the fourth vice-chancellor of UCSI University.

In a statement, the university said the former Higher Education Ministry director-general will begin her term on Friday (Oct 1).

“UCSI University is an established university with great quality of education. I am... proud to helm the university towards attaining greater achievements and milestones,” she said in the statement on Thursday (Sept 30).

The former civil servant has over 34 years of service in various portfolios within the government under six different ministers.

Her last position in the civil service was as the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry secretary-general after spending over three decades in the Higher Education Ministry and a short stint at the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry.

She completed her diploma in Civil Engineering at Institut Teknologi Mara (now known as University Teknologi Mara) before obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in New England College in the United States.

She then worked in the Public Works Department.

She subsequently completed a Masters in Engineering at the University of Lowell, Massachusetts, before obtaining a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Leeds in 1994.

In 2009, she was appointed Higher Education Ministry deputy director-general before becoming director-general.

Some of her initiatives with the ministry include introducing the Malaysian Quality Evaluation System for Private Colleges (MyQuest) rating system to evaluate and subsequently improve the performance of private higher education institutions of college status in the country.

She was also instrumental in the implementation of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education).