AIIAS is pleased to welcome Dr. Jimmy Kijai, PhD, as our newest faculty member in the Education Department of the graduate school, filling the research professor position left vacant by the retirement of Dr. Samuel Gaikwad.
Kijai was born in Sabah, Malaysia. He has for many years worked as a highly respected Research & Statistical Methodology professor at the School of Graduate Psychology and Counseling at Andrews University in Michigan, USA.
Kijai earned his Master of Education in Educational Research degree from the University of South Carolina, USA, in 1983 and his Doctor of Philosophy in Education Research from the same university in 1987.
Kijai has served the Seventh-day Adventist church as an educator since 1971. He taught science subjects to high school students in Sabah Adventist Secondary School in Malaysia from 1971-1979. He was a research coordinator at the University of South Carolina, USA, from 1985 to 1990, and served as a research and statistics professor at Andrews University for the next 30 years, from 1991 to 2021. AIIAS is blessed by his willingness to accept the call to now equip our students with his research knowledge and vast expertise.
Dr. Kijai’s research interest has focused on institutional effects on the development of faith, beliefs, and values. He has published in a number of higher education journals, such as the Journal of Research on Christian Education, the Journal of Adventist Education, International Humanities, The American Journal of Health Education, and Educational Psychology.
Kijai is married to Lucia Gundok, who previously served as a supervisor for Andrews University Food Services. Dr. Jimmy and Lucy Kijai arrived at AIIAS from Michigan at the end of March 2023, and they report that they are currently enjoying the rich social life on the AIIAS campus.
