The University Council of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) appointed Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pranee Sungkatavat as the Acting President of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University on 2 October 2020. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pranee started her new role on 5 October 2020.
Further to the Royal Command appointing the Chair and the Distinguished Members of the University Council on 21 September 2020, Prof. Dr. Prasart Suebka was appointed a member of the University Academic Rank Committee on 24 September 2020. To avoid any conflict of interest that may influence the objective and impartial performance of duties, the University Council appointed Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pranee Sungkatavat as the Acting President of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University until a Royal Command appointing the President of the University is issued.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pranee Sungkatavat was the President of STOU during 2008-2012. She was the fifth President and she was STOU’s first and only female President. She was appointed the Distinguished Member of the University Council as the Expert in Distance Education. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pranee is an ODL educator with experience and expertise. She is also familiar with the distance education system of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pranee Sungkatavat was born on 5 December 1950. She graduated from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand with a Bachelor’s degree in Teaching Biology and subsequently went on to obtain two Master’s degrees from Pittsburg State University in the United States in 1979 and 1981 respectively. In 1984, she received her Doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instructions from Kansas State University.
During her tenure at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, she held the position as Assistant to the President from 2000 to 2003; Vice-President for Educational Services from 2003 to 2005; and Vice-President for Academic Affairs from 2006-2007. From 2008 until the present, Dr. Pranee has served as President of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.
As her area of discipline and expertise is Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Pranee has been a key figure in the development of curricula at other Thai educational institutions throughout the nation as an assessor and evaluator of education curriculums. She has also contributed extensively to the educational system through her role as a program evaluator in quality assurance. In addition to these external obligations, she has successfully published a variety of publications in the Thai language which include: “The Development of Distance Education Curricula”, “The Development of Non-Formal Education Curricula”, and “Curriculum Design”.
In 2008, Dr. Pranee was awarded to be the distinguished alumni of the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, and in the same year she was designated to be the SEAMEO Regional Open Learning Center (SEAMOLEC) Governing Board Member from Thailand.