BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University will confer honorary degrees to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand during IU Bloomington’s 2010 winter commencement ceremony on Dec. 18.
IU President Michael McRobbie will confer both with honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees. Robinson also will serve as the commencement speaker.
“We are especially honored to confer degrees on Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn and Vice Admiral Robinson in recognition of their lifetimes of service,” McRobbie said. “The positive impacts they’ve had on the lives of so many people have been immeasurable.”
As a member of the Royal Family, Princess Sirindhorn is known throughout the world for her efforts to expand and improve public education all across Thailand, especially in remote and rural areas.
“Her leadership and long-standing devotion to the cause of extending quality education opportunities to all Thai citizens have brought about dramatic improvements in the lives of so many in her country,” McRobbie added. “Here at IU, we take pride in the fact that since the days of Herman B Wells’ presidency, several members of our faculty have lent their expertise and support to educational development in Thailand.”
McRobbie said Admiral Robinson also provides an excellent example of how education can transform lives.
“He has taken the medical training he received at IU and used it to assist others during a long and distinguished career as a Naval officer and physician and through his contributions to disaster relief efforts worldwide,” McRobbie said. “The Admiral’s remarkable career should provide inspiration to us all.”
The commencement ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at Assembly Hall. The procession of students will begin at 9:15 a.m.
Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
For decades, IU has had a close relationship with Thailand. IU faculty members and experts have helped to develop modern Thailand by working to establish leading universities, contributing to the development of the K-12 educational system, supporting the growth of its modern health and dental care, and offering guidance as it developed governmental policies.
Many of these advances would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Thai royal family, particularly Crown Princess Sirindhorn, said Charles R. Bantz, chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
“As the member of the Royal Family most prominent for promoting education in her country, she has used her position to focus efforts on a commitment that will better the lives of the Thai people for generations to come,” Bantz said.
Her efforts have focused on children, education, disaster relief and preservation of Thai culture. For example, she played a direct role in establishing libraries, schools and basic education programs in rural areas and Thai border regions. She personally worked with local officials, used her position to call attention to children’s needs, mobilized public support, made investments through her own foundation and inspired others to give.
As a scholar, she has worked in historic preservation, development of traditional Thai music, and creation of an electronic corpus of the modern Thai language. She is so revered as a champion of scientific inquiry that Thai scientists have named 15 plant and animal species in her honor.
Her work has garnered many honors through the years, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1991 (whose past winners have included the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa), and the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development in 2004 (whose past winners include Mikhail Gorbachev, Kofi Annan and Jimmy Carter).
In 2005, the Crown Princess was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Goodwill Ambassador.
“For a generation of students from Thailand and the surrounding countries, Princess Sirindhorn has been a model of effective public service,” said Patrick O’Meara, IU vice president for international affairs. “Her efforts and successes with seemingly intractable problems deserve wider recognition and should stand as a model for students and educators all over the world.”