Express Interview | AI to meet Liberal Arts? Prof Susan Elias on future she imagines for St Stephen’s
In an interview with The Indian Express, Elias spoke about becoming the first woman principal, bringing AI into liberal arts education, leadership, research and the future she imagines for St Stephen’s.
Professor Susan Elias, a computer scientist and academic administrator will take charge from June 1. (Credits: Linkedin/ Image enhanced using ChatGPT) In a first in its 145-year history, St Stephen’s College has appointed a woman principal for the first time. Professor Susan Elias, a computer scientist and academic administrator will take charge from June 1. She succeeds Professor John Varghese.
Unlike many of her predecessors at Stephen’s — an institution historically associated with humanities, theology, politics and the liberal arts — Elias comes from a markedly different academic tradition, with nearly three decades in engineering education, interdisciplinary research and university administration.
Her appointment also signals the end of a years-long administrative standoff. Delhi University had repeatedly termed Varghese’s continuation after March 2021 “illegal” and “non-statutory”, arguing that it violated UGC regulations requiring a fresh selection process.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Elias spoke about becoming the first woman principal, bringing AI into liberal arts education, leadership, research and the future she imagines for St Stephen’s.
Q. You are set to become the first woman principal in the 145-year history of St Stephen’s. What did you feel when you first heard about the appointment?
A. I’m happy that I’m the first woman principal, but I feel it is a sheer coincidence that I happen to be a woman. More than being a woman bringing value into the institution, I feel the real difference will come from my strengths in research, entrepreneurship, computer science and AI. I’ve been working in AI for many years. I think those are the strengths that are going to make the real difference. But yes, I’m happy I could achieve this milestone.
Q. You’ve spent most of your life and career in Chennai. Tell us a little about your journey.
A. I’m actually a Malayali, but I was born and brought up in Chennai because my parents and grandparents moved there in the 1950s and 1960s. My husband is also a Malayali Christian from Thiruvananthapuram, but he too was born and brought up in Chennai. He’s an architect practicing there.
So my entire life has really been in Chennai. But from January till April this year, I was Pro Vice-Chancellor at Chandigarh University’s Lucknow campus. That gave me good exposure to North India, and I simply loved it. Initially, I had apprehensions, but that experience gave me confidence that moving to Delhi would not be a problem at all.
Q. St Stephen’s has historically been associated with humanities, politics and theology. You come from engineering and computer science. How do you see yourself fitting into that legacy?
A. Early in my career, if you had asked me what I wanted to study, my answer would have been “computer science, computer science, computer science”. I spent almost 20 years at Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, where I was Head of the Computer Science department.
But when I moved to VIT, I was made Dean of the School of Electronics. That was the first time I began working across disciplines — mixing electronics and computer science. Later, as Director of Research at Hindustan University, I had to work across aeronautics, aerospace, biotech, humanities, liberal arts and social sciences.
That’s where I realised India was opening up funding opportunities even for humanities and social sciences research. We worked on projects studying tribal communities, sustainability models and digital documentation. That experience gave me confidence that I could handle institution-level leadership irrespective of discipline.
Even at Chandigarh University, I interacted extensively with people from liberal arts and humanities. So I feel very confident about making things interdisciplinary and bringing AI into all these areas.
I believe liberal arts institutions need to engage more deeply with AI and technology today
Q. You are taking over at a sensitive moment after years of friction between St Stephen’s and the Delhi University administration. What kind of principal do you hope to be?
A. My policy throughout my career has been: govern with your mind, but lead with your heart.
Leadership is about balancing both your head and your heart. They may contradict each other, but ultimately they have to come together in decision-making.
The second thing is that leadership is about bringing accountability and transparency into a system. That is the role of a leader — to make people accountable for their contributions and make systems transparent.
Q. Can your appointment help bridge the gap between the college and the university administration?
A. Certain things have to come from a bottom-up approach and certain things have to come from a top-down approach. I have to look at every aspect carefully and slowly introduce accountability and transparency. It cannot happen suddenly. People should not even feel the change, but there should still be meaningful change.
Q. What will your immediate priorities be once you take charge?
A. Admissions are coming up, so the immediate priority will be ensuring a smooth admissions process for incoming students.
I also want to make sure the National Education Policy-related research components are streamlined because those are relatively new. Beyond that, I want to first observe and understand the institution’s systems before attempting changes.
At the same time, I strongly believe everybody today needs to be AI-ready. I want to create AI skill programmes tailored for different disciplines — AI for lawyers, AI for journalists, AI for entrepreneurs, AI for engineers — because every profession requires different AI skill sets.
I don’t think AI will take away jobs. But people using AI will replace people who are not using AI.
Even in my own case, I believe my long experience working with AI gave me an edge in this appointment process. That’s the message I want students to understand — AI skills will give you an advantage irrespective of your discipline.
Q. If you had unlimited resources, what is one ambitious project you would want to build at St Stephen’s?
A. I would strengthen research facilities at St Stephen’s.
The college emerged in the pre-Independence period when India needed leaders, and St Stephen’s has continued producing some of the country’s finest leaders. But today, India also needs research to stay ahead.
So I would invest in creating state-of-the-art research facilities — whether in anthropology, liberal arts or social sciences. Research infrastructure is where I would put unlimited resources.
Q. What are you most looking forward to about joining St Stephen’s?
A. The campus is something I’m really looking forward to. But more than that, I want to meet as many alumni as possible and hear their stories, dreams and aspirations for the institution. I want them to become a guiding force for the next phase of the college.
Q. And what do you think you will miss the most?
A. Being a simple teacher in a classroom.
In my entire career, the happiest moments have been inside a classroom with students. That is what I will miss because this role does not involve teaching. Other than that, I’m looking forward to everything else.
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