Thinking Globally, Visiting Penn
In a whirlwind visit to Penn October 25-27, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn talked with scholars in five of Penn's schools, all of them touching on some aspect of the Thai princess's own prodigious interests in education and its application to social progress. Starting with a dinner in the President's home on the Sunday of her arrival she made four stops on Monday: First, at Fisher Fine Arts Building there was a presentation by GSFA members including Dean Gary Hack on "Planning for Explosive Growth--The Bangkok Plan" (a project for which he is a consultant). Then to the Medical Center, for a series of talks on AIDS research, HIV vaccine development and PennMed's Curriculum 2000, arranged by Dr.Donald Silberberg, the associate dean for international medical programs. Arriving at the University Museum for a tour and an update on the Penn-Thai archaeological research going on in Thailand, she was the guest of Director Jeremy Sabloff and Trustees Chairman Roy Vagelos for lunch, and dessert with Thai students afterward. The afternoon was devoted to the Vet School's New Bolton Center, where Dean Alan Kelly and leading faculty gave a presentation on Biotechnology and Animal Health and Productivity-with special attention to bovine health, in which she joined in the group discussion. Tuesday morning Her Royal Highness was back on the Philadelphia campus for a forum at GSE, with Dean Susan Fuhrman leading the roundtable on international initiatives in literacy, scientific education and other topics. (Her Royal Highness, who did her baccalaureate and masters' degrees in history and languages, took her Ph.D. in educational development and is working on a second doctorate in educational development.)
Top: Dr. Joyce White of the Ban Chiang Project, left, with Diana and Roy Vagelos and Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand.
Right: Yael Dayan, a member of Israel's Knesset, came to Hillel
on November 4 as keynote speaker for a memorial gathering for the late Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin, sponsored by the Penn Israel Committee, the Israeli
Consulate General of Philadelphia and the youth group Habonim Dror.
Left: Coming on the heels of the international visitors as
Connaissance Lecturer November 5, American writer/feminist Gloria Steinem,
founder of Ms. magazine, aptly titled her talk to the new generation
"Acting Globally, Thinking Globally."
Almanac, Vol. 45, No. 11, November 10, 1998