Dr. Ajay Panicker is the interim associate provost for academic and student affairs at St. Cloud State University for the 2022-23 academic year.
Panicker is a professor of Sociology at St. Cloud State who recently finished a term as Interim Dean of College and Community Studies and Public Affairs at Metropolitan State University.
He previously served as a Minnesota State Chancellor’s Fellow for Academic Equity Strategy for Equity 2030 and co-developed system-wide strategies for closing opportunity gaps for first generation, low-income students and students of color.
In addition to teaching at St. Cloud State, Panicker has extensive experience in higher education in India and Canada. His research and publications focus on social and political-economic changes brought about by globalization in Global South.
As a leader in the profession, Panicker has also served as a past president of Sociologists of Minnesota and participated in the 2021 Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
