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Siam University, Bangkok Thailand. In the summer of 2002, TSU President James Hefner began to receive correspondence from Prof. Fred Miller, Assistant President of Siam University in Bangkok, Thailand, inquiring about the possibilities of faculty and student with his institution. The correspondence was subsequently referred to Dr. Hull in OIBP, thus beginning an extensive and eventually fruitful dialog with Siam University. Prof. Miller, originally from Indiana, had lived in Thailand for a decade and was planning a trip to the U.S. to explore linkages with American universities. Thus it was that OIBP arranged for Prof. Miller to make a presentation to TSU students and to meet senior level TSU administrators during his U.S. visit. On September 18, 2002, Prof. Miller addressed a modest gathering of TSU students and faculty in the Forum Auditorium on the topic of "Studying and Teaching Opportunities in Thailand." After the presentation he interviewed a handful of TSU students about their possible interest in studying at Siam University. The results of those interviews, although not immediately clear, were to be seen in the coming months. Following Prof. Miller's visit to TSU, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two universities, indicating commitment to explore collaboration in exchange of students and faculty, research, and training. It would provide the basis for subsequent communication focused on the possibility of TSU students attending Siam University for a semester. Siam University was founded in 1965 by the late Dr. Narong Mongkhonvanit, as the first three-year private Engineering School in Thailand, with 300 students. Following the Private College Act of 1969, the new institution began the process of upgrading its programs to the level of the Bachelor Degree. Initially known as Siam Technical College, by 1989 it had achieved university status and was re-named Siam University. Today it has become one of Thailand's largest private universities with an enrollment of over 15,000 students in eight faculties. It has granted over 50,000 degrees since its inception and has grown to an impressive comprehensive urban institution. The Siam University campus, located near the main financial district of Bangkok, now consists of an 18-building complex, including a new 19-story administrative and classroom tower with state-of-the-art facilities dominating the campus. Siam University is a fully accredited institution of higher education. For example, it is recognized by the Association of Universities in France, the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning, and the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific. Morever, Siam University has been selected to house the Southeast Asia Office of the International Association of University Presidents. Linkages have been developed with universities in Europe, Japan, Korea, and Australia, as well as the U.S. TSU College of Business Students Off to Thailand Of particular significance to TSU is the fact that Siam University has a strong Faculty of Business Administration that offers both undergraduate and graduate business degrees. The Bachelor of Business Administration program includes a concentration in International Business Management. It was this program that would be the focus of attention by the TSU students interested in taking up Prof. Miller's offer to study at Siam University. Two Business Information Systems majors emerged as serious candidates for the exchange: Renaldo Brown and Sokha Tok. With guidance from Prof. Miller and OIBP, the two students began to explore the range of possibilities in the Siam University business curriculum. By the end of the fall semester both were committed to going to Thailand and had submitted their official applications. While the lengthy process of choosing courses to pursue and making travel plans unfolded, Renaldo and Sokha also expressed an interest in taking an intensive course in the Thai language. Arrangements were made for them to study at the Tennessee Foreign Language Institute during the spring 2003 semester. (They would both subsequently acknowledge that this was very helpful in preparing them for their Thai experience.) Both students took the important step of requesting official permission from the TSU Office of Admissions to take courses at another institution in order that the credit earned at Siam University might be transferred to TSU. Meanwhile, Dr. Hull and his wife Mani were officially hosted by Prof. Miller, President Pornchai Mongkhonvanit, and other officials of Siam University during a vacation in South Asia in February 2003. They were given red carpet treatment, including accommodations in university apartments and a tour of the very impressive campus. This reciprocal visit was very helpful in cementing the linkage agreement. Then, in June 2003 the two TSU students departed Nashville as pioneers in the exchange to study for a semester at Siam University.
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