LASALLE College of the Arts (informally LASALLE) is a publicly-funded post-secondary arts institution, planned to be a constituent college of the University of the Arts Singapore (UAS) by 2024 along with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore. Founded in 1984, LASALLE has eight art and design schools that offer more than 30 diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in contemporary arts and design education. LASALLE's bachelor's and master's degrees are validated by Goldsmiths College, University of London, one of the leading universities in the world for arts and humanities. Many leaders in the Singapore arts scene are linked to LASALLE, including Alan Oei as artistic director of The Substation and Eugene Tan as director of the National Gallery Singapore. History 1984–1994 The late Brother Joseph McNally, the founder of LASALLE College of the Arts, was known for his outstanding educational and artistic contributions in Singapore, which he made his home in 1946. He spent almost 40 years in Singapore teaching in various affiliated schools of the De La Salle Order including St Joseph's Institution and St Patrick's Secondary School. Upon retirement, Brother Joseph decided to follow through with his vision to elevate the arts culture in Singapore, holding the belief that the arts is instrumental to a nation. In 1984, Brother Joseph founded LASALLE College of the Arts. Originally known as the St Patrick's Arts Centre, the institution was funded largely through Brother Joseph's own pocket, given the low priority, the Singapore government placed on the arts at that time. As an integrated arts college, the first cohort had a strength of 27 students who were offered diplomas in Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture, and Music. In 1993, Brother Joseph's effort in securing resources finally paid off when Singapore Airlines contributed S$15 million to enhance campus facilities. The college was subsequently renamed LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts. Other financial contributors to the college include the Khoo, Lee, Shaw and Hong Leong Foundations, and Airbus Industries. In the same year, an agreement was formalised with Australia's RMIT University for its bachelor's degree in Fine Arts to be awarded to graduates of LASALLE's Fine Arts programme. 1995–2009 Following the government's plans to rejuvenate Singapore's art space, LASALLE began receiving financial support from the Ministry of Education. At LASALLE's 10th anniversary celebration in 1995, then-Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong remarked that LASALLE played an important role in developing artists and their audience in