AIIAS welcomes to campus Pastor Robert Benjamin who has been appointed to serve as the Vice President for Student Services. He is taking the place of Dr. Bryan Sumendap who was called to serve at the Southern Asia-Pacific Division as associate education director.
Benjamin served as the director of the Office of International Student Services at Andrews University from 2013-2020. Prior to his arrival at AIIAS, Benjamin held the position of the director of operations and human resources of Advocates for Southeast Asians and the Persecuted (ASAP) Ministries, in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
Benjamin holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management from Spicer Adventist University in India, a Master of Divinity from Andrews University (2001), and a Master of Business Administration degree from Bethel University (2008). He is currently completing his Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia.
Benjamin brings experience from a career spent primarily in business and student services. Among other roles, he has served as assistant accountant in the Peninsular Malaysia Mission, Manager of the Southeast Asia Publishing House, as CEO and co-owner of Brightstar Distributors in Malaysia, and as a financial aid counselor in higher education institutions in the United States.
Benjamin was born in Malaysia, where he grew up in a pastor’s family. He is married to Justina Damayan-Benjamin, an associate in early childhood education and a preschool teacher for 28 years. They are blessed with a daughter, Justine Melodie.
