Dr. Indiren Pillay will serve as COAS Dean

Dr. Indiren Pillay will assume the permanent position of Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences effective Nov. 1, 2025, Georgia College & State University Provost Dr. Holley Roberts announced today.

Since 2011, Dr. Pillay has served as chair of Georgia College’s Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and, earlier this year, he stepped into the role of interim dean. A respected leader in higher education, he has driven significant growth and innovation during his 14-year tenure at GCSU. Under his leadership, the department expanded its faculty, launched the GCSU Aquatic Sciences Center in 2021 and contributed to major research initiatives, including securing a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Grant in 2015. Dr. Pillay was named a USG Executive Leadership Institute scholar in 2019 and played a pivotal role in designing and developing the Saladin Integrated Science Complex, completed in 2021.

"I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Indiren Pillay as the new Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Georgia College & State University,” said Dr. Holley Roberts, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “Dr. Pillay brings a wealth of experience, a deep commitment to academic excellence and a visionary approach to interdisciplinary collaboration. His continued leadership will be instrumental in advancing our mission to foster innovation, scholarship and student success across the liberal arts and sciences. We are excited about the transformative impact he will have on our college and university."

A graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Dr. Pillay earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology in 1995. He has spent the past 30 years working in higher education in South Africa, Tennessee, Missouri and Georgia. Dr. Pillay will become the second College of Arts & Sciences dean with a science degree since 1977.

“I am humbled by this unexpected appointment,” Pillay said. “I thank Provost Roberts and President Cox for their confidence in me, and I am excited by the prospect of working with my colleagues in the college. We have assembled a great team in the dean’s suite, and we all look forward to continuing our support of the college faculty and staff in ensuring our students’ success at GCSU.”