The main purpose of Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyadha Mahidol’s visit to the University was to dedicate a gift of more than 1,700 books and other materials to the Knight Library as part of the 60th anniversary celebration of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s accession to the throne.
The gift of books, which includes a rare limited-edition album of 19th century photographs taken by then-King
Chulalongkorn, establishes the University as one of the leading repositories of significant cultural and historical material about Thailand currently in the United States.
The princess also opened an exhibition at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
and took part in the launch of the new math and science components of the University’s existing distance learning program.
“Over the past several years, the University has been actively involved with an organization in Thailand called the Royal Thai Distance Learning Foundation, which helps to develop teacher
training workshops for English teachers in Thailand,” Russell Tomlin, the University’s vice provost for academic affairs said.
The Distance Learning Foundation is an organization sponsored by King Bhumibol. The royal visit by the
princess was a direct result of the relationship that the University and Thailand have cultivated as a result of a their work on the distance learning program.
“This visit by the princess is an opportunity for the University,” Tomlin said. “It opens the door for UO students and faculty in our community to engage in a broad array of other academic facilities in Thailand.
“It opens the door for us to receive more students and faculty from Thailand whom we will welcome wholeheartedly.”