Vineet Chander, who has served as Hindu chaplain at George Washington University and at Rutgers University, has been hired as Princeton’s first coordinator of Hindu life.
Alison Boden, dean of religious life, said that Chander will begin a one-year term in the part-time position in August. While he will perform chaplaincy work “to a certain extent,” she said, he is being hired as a University employee in the Office of Religious Life and not as a chaplain.
Chander’s responsibilities will include mentoring Hindu students, helping to create programming, developing contacts with the greater Hindu community in the area, and connecting with Hindu alumni, Boden said.
Chander described the new position — a pilot program — as “a pioneering opportunity.” He said he hopes to help students and faculty who are practicing Hindus to “appreciate and grow in their faith” while providing connections with other faiths and traditions.
He praised the activities of Princeton Hindu Satsangam, a student organization for those interested in Hinduism, and said his goal is to help students take their work “to the next level.”
Chander is an American-born Hindu priest who graduated from George Washington University Law School and spent a year as a New York assistant district attorney. He is a religious-communications consultant with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a devotional tradition within the family of Hindu faiths.