Chowdhury Named President of the Bangladesh Association of Greater Saint Louis
Boasting 250 members, the Bangladesh Association of Greater Saint Louis aims to uphold and promote Bangali culture and heritage.
In addition to hosting multicultural events, the association participates in charity work and serves as a resource for the nearly 600 Bangladeshis living in Greater St. Louis and Southern Illinois. In recent years, members have not only raised funds to educate children from low-income families in Bangladesh, but they have also collected donations and supplies to assist flood victims in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
“I’ve been involved with the Bangladesh Association of Greater Saint Louis since I moved to the area in 2003,” Chowdhury said. “It’s wonderful to connect with people who share my cultural background and have an interest in supporting others, both here and abroad.”
As president, Chowdhury will focus on continuing the organization’s charity work. He also plans to lead new initiatives to support refugees in St. Louis. His work in this area began last semester when he collaborated with Amnesty International students at STLCC-Wildwood. As the sponsor of this campus club, Chowdhury worked with students to collect school supplies to benefit immigrant and refugee women in St. Louis who are enrolled in English as a Second Language classes.
“We have an active group of students in Amnesty International at Wildwood who are eager to support human rights campaigns like this and others,” Chowdhury said. “I look forward to finding new ways for these two groups to come together to advance diversity and inclusion initiatives.”
According to Keith Fuller, STLCC’s director of diversity and inclusion, Chowdhury’s work aligns perfectly with the college’s strategic priority to strengthen relationships with community advocacy organizations.
“As a college, we’ve been working hard to transform the way we engage in the business of diversity and inclusion,” said Fuller. “Syed’s involvement on campus and with the Bangladesh Association of Greater Saint Louis reflect STLCC’s ongoing efforts to foster an atmosphere of appreciation for all.”
Chowdhury has been on the faculty of STLCC-Wildwood since in 2009. Today, he serves as the division chair of Science, Social Science and Physical Education. He holds a master’s degree in science from Dhaka University in Bangladesh and a doctorate in neurophysiology from Gifu University School of Medicine in Japan. He completed post-doctoral fellowships in the Department of Biology at Washington University and the Centre for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California-Irvine. In addition, he has held research positions in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Washington University School of Medicine and Dalhousie University School of Medicine in Halifax, Canada.