With a student body of over 600,000--Ramkhamhaeng University (RU) is one of the largest universities in the world. The main campus is in the eastern suburbs of Bangkok with 20 branch campuses throughout Thailand.

In October 2001, officials from Ramkhamhaeng University visited Indiana University to meet the faculty and learn more about its optometry program. At that time an agreement of cooperation between the two universities was signed. RU's new optometry program accepted its first students in July 2002.

Signing of agreement at IU in 2001 (from left RU Vice-Rector Aruntqavadee Phatnibul, RU Vice-Rector Manop Pramanachote, IU President Brand, RU Weerachai Singhaniyom, Acting Deputy Director, Institute of Health Science).

Dr. Gerald Lowther (Dean of the IU School of Optometry) and Dr. Steve Hitzeman (IU Optometry Clinic Director) went to Bangkok in March 2002 and met with Rector (President) Rangsan Saengsook and other officials of Ramkhamhaeng University to help finalize the clinic plans, discuss curricular issues, plan for IU Optometry faculty to teach some courses during the developmental stages, recommend what equipment to order, and discuss concerns in hiring faculty.

Photo to left: Meeting in Rector Rangsan Saengsook's office (from the left: Weerachai Singhaniyom, Vice-Rector Manop Pramanachote, Rector Saengsook, IU Optometry Dean Lowther, IU Optometry Clinic Director Hitzeman, Janet Hitzeman, Andrya Lowther, Aruntavadee Phatnibul, Arom Chanuanjuit, Rapin Tongra-ar).

Drs. Lowther and Hitzeman also took part in a news conference announcing the new optometry program and a signing of the cooperative agreement with the Rector Rangsan Saengsook. Photo to right: Signing of the Agreement of Cooperation at Ramkhamhaeng University (from the left: Hitzeman, Lowther, Saengsook, Vice-Rector Manop Pramanachote, Weerachai Singhaniyom).

Since 2002, IU School of Optometry faculty and other selected educators from the US have traveled to Bangkok to teach courses. Courses that are normally taught here during a 9-week or semester period are usually concentrated into a 2-week period at Ramkhamhaeng University. RU is in the process of developing its own faculty, but needs IU faculty for many of the vision and clinical courses. (Visit our page with photos of our faculty visits, the university, and Bangkok as well as some photos of the RU optometry clinic.)

The optometry program at Ramkhamhaeng University is in the Institute of Health Science. The director of the Institute is Dr. Warunee Yongskulrote. The optometry program is headed by Dr. Danai Tonketmonghon, an optometry graduate from Indiana University. The optometry program at RU has received tremendous support from the innovative president of the university, Rangsan Saengsook.

A few students from Ramkhamhaeng University who are in the last year of their training will be spending several months at Indiana University starting in the summer of 2006. They will then go back to RU to teach in the program.

Below are two views from the central campus of Ramkhamhaeng University.

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	URL: http://www.opt.indiana.edu/programs/interntl/thailand.htm Revised: August 2, 2006
	IU Optometry home page: http://www.opt.indiana.edu/ Comments: Web Administrator Original page design and coding: Terri Greene Copyright © 2006, The Trustees of Indiana University