ABBOTSFORD: Dr. Satwinder Bains of Abbotsford is this year’s recipient of the University of the Fraser Valley’s Faculty Service Excellence Award.
In conferring the award, the University cited Dr. Bains as “a visionary leader with an unshakable commitment to equality and cultural justice.”
Bains is currently Associate Professor in the department of Social Cultural and Media Studies. She was the driving force behind a $2.25 million donation campaign to establish the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Canada-India Partnership Development and the University’s South Asian Studies Institute, of which she has been director since 2006.
Her current research interests include migration, settlement, and integration; cross-cultural education and curriculum implementation; race, racism, and ethnicity; identity politics; South Asian Canadian Diaspora studies, Punjabi cultural historiographies. Her academic articles have been published in various international journals.
Her biography states: “ Satwinder has extensive years of professional work experience in community development and has worked extensively with not-for-profit organizations in the area of cross-cultural mental health, immigrant women, youth and families and board development on diversity and equity. diversity, cross cultural development, women’s rights and socioreligious interfaith dialogue.
Bains was closely associated with the setting up of of UFV India – where she served as director of from 2013-2017 before becoming its prinicipal through 2019. She made frequent frequent trips to the univerisity’s campus in Chandigarh.