Meet professor Susan Elias: First woman principal of Delhi St Stephen's college in its 145-year history

For the first time since its establishment in 1881, St Stephen's College in Delhi will be headed by a woman. The college has appointed Professor Susan Elias as its first female principal in its 145-year history.

According to the official announcement, Elias will take charge as the 14th principal of the college from June 1, 2026, succeeding Professor John Varghese.

Founded in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi, St Stephen’s College is among the oldest constituent colleges of the University of Delhi and is widely regarded as one of the country’s most prestigious higher education institutions.

Who is Professor Susan Elias?

Professor Susan Elias is a computer science academic and administrator with over three decades of experience in higher education, research, and leadership.

Before this appointment, she briefly served as Pro Vice Chancellor (Research) at Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh between January and May 2026.

Prior to that, she was Director (Research) at Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science in Chennai from October 2024 to December 2025.

She was also associated with Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) for nearly nine years, where she held multiple positions including Professor and Dean of the School of Electronics Engineering, Professor and Deputy Director at the Centre for Advanced Data Science, and Associate Professor and Head of Department at the School of Electronics Engineering (SENSE).

Elias completed her Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering from Bharath Institute of Science and Technology under Madras University. She later pursued a Master of Engineering in Multimedia Technology and a PhD in Multimedia Communications from Anna University.

She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Membrane Computing at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras.

Why it matters

The appointment is being seen as a major milestone because St Stephen’s functioned largely as a male institution for much of its history.

Although women were admitted briefly in its early years, regular admissions for women students only began in 1975. Over the decades, the college gradually saw increasing participation of women students and faculty members, making the appointment of its first female principal particularly significant.

In 1906, Susil Kumar Rudra had become the first Indian principal of St Stephen’s, making him one of the first Indians to head a major colonial-era educational institution.

St Stephen’s College has historically held a prominent place in Indian higher education.

Its alumni include politicians, diplomats, economists, judges, journalists, writers, actors, and civil servants, some important names being former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.