We would like to warmly welcome Dr. Susan Chand and her husband, Dr. David Chand. Dr. Susan Chand has been appointed Vice President for Academic Affairs. They have recently joined AIIAS from the University of Southern Caribbean in Trinidad, where Dr. Susan was the Dean of the School of Social Sciences. Dr Susan brings experience spanning over 30 years in tertiary education in a variety of roles, including professor, administrator, director for research and innovation, department chair, and registrar. Dr. Susan has an undergraduate degree in Botany and Mathematics from Spicer Memorial College (1987), her Master’s in Anthropology and her PhD in Medical Anthropology, both from Pune University (India) in 1988 and 1997, respectively. Drs. Susan and David Chand are originally from India. Dr. Susan grew up in a multicultural community where her parents worked at a private hospital. She was exposed to a wide diversity of ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups, giving her a broad foundation for her worldview. Although the community was secular, her parents provided a nurturing Adventist home life that grounded her and her two brothers in the faith. As she says, “Growing up, we knew who we were as Seventh-day Adventists and actively witnessed our faith to neighbors and friends around us.” After 10th grade, Dr. Susan attended Spicer Memorial College, which further broadened her perspective and opened her mind to people from different backgrounds. As she witnessed God working in people’s lives, her faith was strengthened. Dr. Susan is a talented lady and enjoys cooking, writing poetry, and nature walks. She is also a researcher and has engaged in numerous ethnographic studies in India, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean and published in peer-reviewed journals and books. Together with her husband, Dr. Susan was actively involved in the churches in Trinidad, conducting seminars on a variety of practical topics including family life, health and well-being, parenting, and lifestyle. Drs. Susan and David have an adult son, Arnold, who is an electrical and computer engineer and lives in Trinidad. Her favorite bible text is Micah 6:8: He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? We welcome Dr. Susan and Dr. David Chand into the AIIAS family and look forward to working with them to grow AIIAS from strength to strength.
