The College’s newly organized Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences welcomes Dr. Lloyd Chia as Associate Professor of Social Sciences. Previously, Dr. Chia was Assistant Professor in the department of Sociology, Global Studies, and Criminal Justice at Spring Arbor University in Michigan.
The son of a pastor and seminary president, Dr. Chia lived most of his life in Singapore, but has also spent time in Mongolia and New Zealand. He has traveled widely in North America, Central America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He served as an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces; was a collegiate rugby player and coach; and performed as a vocalist for a band that produced two albums and toured extensively in Asia.
His ministry background includes serving as the worship director of All Nations Fellowship, a multicultural church in Columbia, Mo. During his time at Spring Arbor University, Dr. Chia led Cross Cultural Studies trips to both China and Cambodia, bringing students out to experience the world they study.
Dr. Chia has published on the Emerging Church Movement in America and researched the experience of LGBT students on Christian College campuses, and why some leave. He is also passionate about diversity, interfaith relations, and racial reconciliation.
He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from University of Missouri, and a MSoc.Sci. in Sociology and B.A. in Sociology and History from National University of Singapore.
Research and publications include:
- 2016 “From Boundaries to Borderlands: the Emerging Church’s imaginative work of fostering relationships across difference”, in Crossing Boundaries, Redefining Faith: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Emerging Church Movement, Michael Clawson and April Stace Vega (eds.), Wipf and Stock.
- 2010 Brent, Edward, Jeffrey McCully, Lloyd Chia. Sociology Online (5th Edition), Columbia, MO: Ideaworks, Inc.
- 2006 “Cultural Missionizing: Islam, Christianity, and Popular Culture in Singapore”, in Proteus: Journal of Ideas (23:2, 2006 Fall).