March 03, 2010
Dr. Jay
Nathan, St. John’s Professor of Management in the Tobin College of
Business, and former Fulbright Senior Scholar (Thailand, 1991-92),
was invited as a special guest by the Royal Thai Embassy to a
celebratory 60 years of the Fulbright Program in Thailand on
February 18, 2010 in Washington, D.C.
Nathan participated in the Cooperation in Education and “Caring
Leaders across Cultures” seminar coinciding with the anniversary
celebration and met with Thai Ambassador to the United States, H.E.
Mr. Don Pramudwinai and distinguished scholars Dr. Varakorn
Samkoses, Vice Chair of the National Committee on Educational
Reform and Former Deputy Minister of Education; and H.E. Dr.
Manaspas Xuto, TUSEF (Thailand United States Education Foundation)
Board Chairman.
The evening provided a reunion of Fulbright alumni in the U.S.
where Nathan met with current Thai Fulbright grantees and friends
gathered to share common interests.
“It was an incredible honor to be among these distinguished Thai
scholars in education,” said Nathan. “And I was especially
impressed by the young Thailand Fulbright Scholars who are
currently working in the U.S. They had a youthful exuberance that
really impressed me and it was a joy having a chance to meet and
speak with some of them.”
Topics of interest discussed at the seminar included:
• Thai Strategic Directions on Higher Education
• U.S. as Strategic Partner in Higher Education
• Caring Leaders across Cultures
In addition to visiting Thailand for his Fulbright work, Nathan
has also been to Poland (as a Fulbright scholar (1998-99), Senior
Fulbright scholar in Kazakhstan (2002) and lauded for his work as a
Senior Fulbright scholar in Mongolia (2008) with the National
University of Mongolia. He has also hosted visiting professors,
most recently from Mongolia, who have studied and researched at St.
John’s University in Queens, N.Y.
Nathan was awarded a traditional plaque of honor by researchers
and students of the NCNN (National Center for Nanoscience and
Nanotechnology) of Mongolia for his contributions to the
development of the Center in June 2009.
Information regarding the 60th anniversary of the Fulbright
Program in Thailand can be obtained by calling Dr. Jay Nathan at
718-990-1879 or e-mailing him at nathanj@stjohns.edu.