OUTGOING LaSalle College of the Arts president Robert Ely and his two deputies who also quit last month will move together to a new arts initiative headquartered in Dubai.

The two deputies are vice-president (quality) Richard Berry and vice-president (academic) Alan Lourens.

NEW POST: Prof Ely will head a new University of the Arts.

Professor Ely has been appointed president of a new University of the Arts, a network of campuses located in the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent. It is slated to open in three years' time.

Professor Berry and Professor Lourens will be appointed vice-presidents.

The initiative was started by Dubai-based Emaar Education, which launched the E R International School in January.

Emaar Education is the wholly owned subsidiary of real estate firm Emaar Properties, based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Prof Ely resigned from LaSalle with his two deputies last month in a much-publicised move.

A LaSalle spokesman had said at the time that the trio had quit to pursue their professional interests. It later surfaced that disagreements with the Education Ministry may have been the cause of the resignations.

In a press statement yesterday, Prof Ely said: 'The arts and education are my two greatest passions and I look forward to contributing to the development of the arts education field in the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent.'

Emaar Education chief executive Ng Boon Yew said the network took into account Prof Ely's 'established and illustrious track record' in his contributions to arts education in Singapore, Britain and the United States.