Arthit introduces new Dulwich team

PHUKET: As the crisis over the future of Dulwich International College continues unresolved, the school’s CEO and Founder, Dr Arthit Ourairat, is in Phuket for two meetings, one with teachers this afternoon, and another with parents, scheduled for 2 pm tomorrow.

At this afternoon’s meeting he introduced the new Headmaster he has chosen for the school, Canadian Prof Dr George Hickman, and the new School Manager, Asst Prof Dr Nares Pantaratorn.

Also due to visit the school tomorrow is Ralph Mainard, Deputy Master of Dulwich College in London with responsibility for external relations.

Dr Arthit and Dulwich London are currently at loggerheads over how much control each will have over the future direction of the Phuket school, with no sign of a solution as yet.

One teacher described today’s meeting as “tense”, particularly as the entire proceedings were filmed under bright lights. “No one was going to put a hand up and ask provocative questions,” the teacher said.

Dr Arthit made it clear that he resented former Headmaster David Cook reporting to London, but he stressed that he would like to preserve the relationship if at all possible.

Dr Hickman, who has been Director for International Affairs and Adviser to the President on Human Resource Development at Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai since June 2004, spoke to the teachers about some of his plans for the school, and in particular about beginning a “healing” process.

A short biography published by the Hong Kong Institute of Education, where Dr Hickman once gave a lecture on the topic of “improving performance management practices”, notes that he received his doctorate from the University of Toronto, majoring in educational administration “with specialty in the evaluation of educational personnel”.

“He has a number of publications focusing on teacher evaluation, school improvement and school-based administration,” the biography says.

“He is currently developing a proposed faculty performance appraisal system for Naresuan University, Thailand, in conjunction with design and delivery of performance management courses for senior academic administrators.”

The biography concludes, “With his senior administrative experience over many years, he has been [a] public speaker on the topics of dealing with change, leadership, performance appraisal, quality assurance, legal implications of evaluation, and various human resources issues.”

Dr Nares, a member of the faculty of Rangsit University, another star in Dr Arthit’s education firmament, has a degree in civil engineering from Chulalongkorn University, a master’s in structural engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, and a doctorate, also in structural engineering, from the University of Tokyo.

Among his published papers, the most recent, written in collaboration with master’s degree candidate Nontiwat Hutangkura, is entitled “Strength of reinforced concrete beams with internal post between opening.”