Gerald Fry, professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD), spoke about educational reforms at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University recently. His speech, covered in an article in The Nation, focused on the need to improve quality in Thailand’s educational system, which he said has overemphasized infrastructure and underemphasized activities in the classroom.
Fry has traveled to Thailand more than 50 times, sometimes living there for years at a time, and has written several books and articles about Thailand. His 2005 book, Thailand and its neighbors: Interdisciplinary perspectives, is one of several he has written about Southeast Asia. He also has written articles about Thailand for the Harvard International Review and other publications. Fry was selected with OLPD professor David Chapman as a recipient of the University of Minnesota Award for Global Engagement in 2009.