Farewell reception in honor of Prof. Mario T. Tabucanon,
Acting President
H.E. Mr. Anand Panyarachun,
Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees hosted a farewell reception on 23 June
2005 in honor of Prof. Mario T. Tabucanon, Acting President of AIT, upon
the completion of his term of office, at Plaza Athenee Hotel. Attending the
reception were Dr. Thanat Khoman, Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees,
AIT Trustees and former AIT Trustees, members of the Diplomatic Corps, officials
from government sectors, Thammasat University, and National Science and Technology
Development Agency (NSTDA), and AIT faculty and staff members. The event was
also participated by H.E. Mr. Yongyut Tiyapairat, Minister of Natural
Resources and Environment.
In his remarks at the reception,
H.E. Mr. Anand expressed his thankfulness to Prof. Mario T. Tabucanon for taking
up the Acting Presidency of AIT for the past six months, saying that Prof. Tabucanon
had delivered much more than he personally expected. "We all know him as
a personality who gets along with all people. We know him as a good academician.
And we know him as an Asian and as a devotee and loyal subject of AIT. During
his short acting period, he has, through his sheer personality, been successful
in identifying himself with the interests of the Institute. He has smoothen
out some of the rough relations that AIT had with some constituent members in
the area. We can say and we share his pride in his accomplishment that AIT is
now regarded by Thammasat University, by the Foreign Ministry, by the Interior
Ministry, by the people who work in the field in Pathumthani Province, be it
the Governor, be it the Chief Police, be it the Chief of the Labor Office. In
general, I think AIT has now emerged as a loyal citizen of that particular area
in which there is a need to further promote the working relations and the good
cooperative relationship with all of the stakeholders. So, I congratulate him.
In this period of six months, he has proved to be a President who has gained
the trust of the entire AIT community. We wish him all the best. We wish him
a continued good future and we hope that we will have the opportunities to work
with him sometime in the future."
H.E. Mr. Anand then presented a plaque
to Prof. Tabucanon, as a token of the AIT community's appreciation of his good
work and his loyalty and his commitment to AIT.
Prof. Mario T. Tabucanon, also gave
some remarks. He said he was greatly honored and thankful to Dr. Thanat Khoman,
Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees, whom he referred as the father of
AIT. "I am profoundly grateful to H.E. Khun Anand Panyarachun, Chairman
of the Board of Trustees, for hosting this wonderful party. My words cannot
express the sentiment that I feel in my heart. For the last six months, I had
been very privileged to have worked with the Chairman and learned a lot from
his wisdom, as well as his experience from our meetings and conversationÂ…I
am very grateful to AIT for giving me the opportunity to grow in the system.
I first came to AIT to study, to learn, but I did not realize that I came not
only to learn but also to stay and stay longer and now stayed very long time
to work for AIT and to work for the region. I believe in the noble mission of
AIT to serve the region. That's why I returned and stayed long," he stated.
AIT Acting President, Prof. Tabucanon,
also mentioned about his plan of taking a sabbatical leave for one year in several
places-serving as a visiting scholar at the Center for Sustainable Urban Regeneration
at the University of Tokyo, and assisting the United Nations University's Institute
of Advanced Studies based in Yokohama in establishing a Regional Center for
Expertise. He also will work at Tongji University, a big university in Shanghai,
China, where there is an Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development.
He will further give some lectures in universities in Thailand and elsewhere
in the region. "That is the mission of AIT-the development of the region
and I will continue to do so, even outside my administrative duties," Acting
President concluded.