After a long and careful selection process, we are very proud to announce that Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chailerd Pichitpornchai, M.D. will be the next President of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University. With expertise in physiology and special training in computers and e-learning, Dr. Chailerd has been an instructor and administrator at Mahidol’s Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital for many years. From 2008-2011, he was the Vice President for Planning and Information Technology at Mahidol University, and in 2009, he also assumed responsibilities as the Director of the Division of Information Technology.

Dr. Chailerd earned his medical degree from Monash University in Australia, and subsequently underwent training in information technology and e-learning in the United States and Korea. In recent years, he has become more involved in quality assurance procedures for higher education both in Thailand and internationally.

Dr. Chailerd’s association with STOU began almost ten years ago, when he first acted as an advisor on various information technology issues. He has served on numerous administrative committees and subcommittees and has offered expertise for the development of courses. In addition, he contributed his technological expertise to STOU’s current five-year development plan (2009-2013) and led evaluators in inspecting internal quality assurance at STOU for the Office of the Higher Education Commission.

At this time, STOU would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to our former President, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pranee Sungkatavat, as well as Assoc. Prof. Dr. Somchin Suntavaruk, Distinguished Member of the University Council, who was the Acting President of STOU while the search for a new President was completed. We also wish to thank the entire administrative team of Vice-Presidents for their hard work and thoughtful guidance. We are now delighted to welcome the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chailerd Pichitpornchai, M.D., and his new team of Vice-Presidents.