NIU President Doug Baker and Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand
As 2013 draws to a close, NIU Today offers a look back at 25 of the top stories from the year.
No. 16
NIU awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree Sept. 18 to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, who addressed an audience of about 300 people during the ceremony.
Her Royal Highness, who holds a doctorate in educational development and heads the history department of the Royal Thai Army military academy, noted that NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies has contributed to the world’s understanding of the region.
President Doug Baker cited the “extensive record of accomplishment” of Her Royal Highness, acknowledging her work in heritage protection, development of traditional Thai music and creation of an electronic corpus of the modern Thai language.
She also established Chulalongkorn University’s Sirindhorn Thai Language Institute, promoting teaching, learning and assessment of the Thai language.
