Mr. Prachak Rotarwut

Thai Scholar

Nakan Sawan Rajabhat University 

During a six-week program, the MSU College of Education, Health and Human Development will host Prachak Rotarwut. He is this year’s recipient of the JEEM Memorial Scholarship, which was established by the family of Dr. James G. Hauwiller to support international educational exchanges. While in Montana, Prachak will experience a home stay with Yvonne Hauwiller in Bozeman.

Brief Narrative Biography

Prachak Rotarwut was born in Ayutthaya, the ancient capital city of Thailand. He grew up and attended primary and secondary school in Samutprakarn, near Bangkok. After he received his master's degree, eight years ago, he began teaching at NSRU (Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University). NSRU is located at the mouth of the Chao Praya River, the major waterway in Thailand. Prachak is married to Benchaporn, who is a lecturer at the same university. His son, Natchanon, is three years old and is in his first year of preschool. He enjoys his family, and whenever he has free time, he likes to jog. 

His current position at NSRU is Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs within Humanities and Social Sciences. He teaches various courses in the field of education and is one of the teacher trainers for the pre-service and in-service teacher training workshops for primary and secondary schools. In addition, he has been appointed as head of public relations for their International programs. In this position, he has been fortunate to meet and welcome foreign educators from various countries including Australia, England, Japan, China, India, and America. In 1998, he coordinated the Fulbright Group Study Program for 12 Bozeman area educators. This involvement led him to pursue this scholarship to study at MSU. 

Prachak’s experience abroad includes several scholarships supported by the National government, in conjunction with private organizations. In 1993, he visited Australia for ten months with the Teacher Visiting Program. He says that his English listening and speaking ability improved greatly from this experience. Further, in 1997, he attended a one-month course of study in Singapore on Business English and Technology. Upon his return, he organized a faculty workshop on teaching English using technology and developed a semester course for Bachelor of Arts students. 

While here, Prachak is interested in learning more about curriculum design, course development, teaching supervision, and program management. Upon his return, he will organize the in-service training program for primary and secondary school English teachers. In addition to the academics, he hopes to learn first-hand about American culture. He will do so by meeting kids at schools, talking to teachers and community members, sightseeing, and learning about every day family life in America.