Submitted photo Princess Mala Chakri Sirindhorn (left), presents Patrick O’Meara an honorary doctorate from the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) during his January visit to Thailand. NIDA is Thailand’s leading institution of higher education. On May 3, 1955, IU agreed to assist in helping the Thai government establish the Institute of Public Administration at Thammasat University in Bangkok, the precursor of NIDA. IU’s dean of International programs is heartened by the historical ties that bind IU to its international alumni and the institutions abroad they have helped build.

On May 3, 1955, IU agreed to assist in helping the Thai government establish the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) at Thammasat University in Bangkok, the precursor of NIDA. The project had major funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID). The contract was signed in Washington D.C. by IU President Herman B Wells and by Thailand’s Prime Minister P. Pibulsonggram, rector of Thammasat University, who was in the United States on an official visit at the invitation of President Dwight Eisenhower.

From the earliest days of his presidency, Wells had always had a global perspective, traveling widely, exploring ways that the university could assist other nations and institutions, welcoming international visitors to the campus and interacting frequently students with from different parts of the world. In Being Lucky, his autobiography, he describes going to Thailand on various occasions to encourage those working on the IPA project. In the IU Archives, there are numerous photographs of Wells with students and dignitaries from Thailand, which he thought was “one of the most interesting countries in the world.”

Accompanying me on this trip to Bangkok were my colleagues, associate deans Susan Sutton of the Office of International Affairs at IUPUI and Christopher Viers of the Office of International Services, as well as David Jones, director of IU’s Center on Southeast Asia. They were impressed with NIDA’s enormous impact on the country. Today, it is one of Thailand’s leading institutions of higher education, and its graduates hold key administrative positions throughout the country. In addition to the collaboration with NIDA, which brought many Thai graduate students, faculty and administrators to IU for training and advanced degrees, IU has also had long-standing linkages with other Thai institutions such as Chulalongkorn University, which received us warmly with a reception hosted by the School of Sports Science. IU’s schools of Nursing and Dentistry also have long-standing connections with Thailand.

One of the most remarkable aspects of our recent trip was the interest and enthusiasm of our Thai IU alums. We had hesitated about traveling to Thailand so soon after the devastation of the tsunami but everyone we met there was determined to continue with daily life. On short notice, the alums organized a splendid reception for more than 150 people. The goodwill and nostalgia for IU was palpable and overwhelming. The reception included invitations to students and their parents who have applied for admission for the fall semester 2005. The interaction between these students, the alums and some of our current students, who were home for the recess, added powerfully to our efforts at recruitment.

For our part, we organized a luncheon for major donors and again, this too was a notable event. We also had the opportunity to meet with officials of the U.S. Embassy, the Fulbright Commission and the Institute for International Education to talk about recruiting students to Indiana University. We also spoke with representatives of the Thai Civil Service Commission.

What is the central lesson to be learned from our contact with these Thai alums? It is evident that our international alums are loyal and caring members of the larger IU family. I have personally been welcomed by enthusiastic alums in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. Yet, we now face a time of uncertainty. Our meetings in Bangkok indicated that IU is facing severe competition from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom as well as other U.S. universities. 

Requirements put in place by Homeland Security and the SEVIS system have also created the impression that the United States is less welcoming. 

The current climate requires a much more direct, vigilant and visible plan of action if we are to continue attracting international students to our campuses. The Asian countries have traditionally been the major countries sending international students to the U.S. and elsewhere. Over the past two years, IU as a whole has seen a significant decline in applications and enrollment from these countries, reflecting a pattern that is nationwide. Many U.S. universities are now directly and vigorously addressing the problem.

IU President Adam Herbert, in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last October, summed up the situation:

What is happening at Indiana University is happening at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Many intellectual and cultural ties that cross borders and unite peoples are being severed. Stemming the flow of international students and scholars who want to participate in our academic life also stems the free flow of knowledge and ideas. This is a moment for decisive action. We must return the United States to its preeminence in international education.

Indiana University now needs to seriously assess the situation and consider ways of remedying the decline in our international student population. Representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and other agencies indicated that many Thai students feel that they might no longer be welcome in the U.S. or that the visa process was too formidable. In fact, we were assured by the U.S. Embassy that, contrary to perception, 80 percent of applicants do indeed get their visas, even though the process might now take six weeks. Of course, there must be recruitment efforts by departments, schools and the university as a whole. At the same time, we must also allocate resources to nurturing our international alums. Most recently, IU alumni clubs in 19 countries in Asia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, India and Latin America eagerly agreed to host events for prospective students and their parents.

International students have contributed enormously to the diversity and quality of our university and to the economic well-being of our state. I hope that their special presence will grow rather than decline. Herman Wells, in being at the founding of important Thai institutions such as NIDA, profoundly understood the essence of the contribution of international students and international knowledge to the intellectual stature of the university. We need to ensure that his great legacy continues to flourish.