Thank for your information. I have to points to propose in the coming monthly meeting:
1) Regarding the filling of the new VP, I would suggest to start from taking into consideration the future direction of the programs and department. What the international program has started is to develop module-based courses and co-totelle program which I believe will help solve the staff shortage problem in the long run and also help generate income which will ensure our programs’ sustainability. The module-based courses will be more or less similar to other general short training courses but attendees will be opened to interested public and all credits gained can be accumulated and then submitted for MA/PhD degree. This is inline with the current Grad School’s policy which is about to be announced very soon.
In short, any VP position to be filled should be carefully considered by taking in to consideration the future development framework of the programs especially the international ones.
2) The idea of filling the vacant position of the department by accepting the transfer of a person from Khonkaen seems to be unlikely to yield any benefit to the Department as that person has no background relevant to health social sciences any more. His education/degree perfectly fits with the public administration programs not ours. I don’t think we should hurry up filling the position and find nothing beneficial to the Department in the long run. I want the department to reconsider this idea before giving any pledge to him.