Sunel Sultan Merchant was born in a small town in Bombay (Mumbai), India, on November 25th 1968 to Sultan and Sultana Merchant. He married his college girlfriend, Sonia in the year 1992. He graduated from Bombay University in the year 1993 majoring in Business and Accounting. On February 29th 1996, Sunel and his wife Sonia were blessed with a bright son, namely Sunny. Sunel received a job offer from a Technology Company in New York and moved to US in March of 1997. He changed job in 1998 and was placed with Japanese Bank on 49th floor of World Trade Center, NY as a Computer Consultant. The new Millennium brought another blessing to the family in the guise of a beautiful daughter, Saloni. On 9/11 of 2001, their lives took a major turn. Luckily, by the Grace of God and prayers of family & Friends, Sunel was able to safely climb down the stairs of “terrorist attacked World Trade Center” tower 1. The bank went into a merger and left Sunel with ut a job in January of 2005. He decided to take this as a challenge and proceeded to fulfill his dream of opening a restaurant. After working odd jobs and gaining experience for 6 months, he decided to pay a visit to his cousin in Birmingham. Entering Alabama made him feel very homely and he decided to make this state his home, even before he met anybody in the state. In the August of 2005 he was able to fulfill his dream by opening “Philly Connection” on S. College Street by I-85, with his wife’s help. Together, this year, they opened a new restaurant “Sunny Pizza Corner” with many firsts. To name a few, “First restaurant to donate a part of its daily proceeds to Auburn Safety Department”, “No extra charge for additional toppings on its Pizzas” and “Serving Indian Fast Food”. Sunel is in the process of becoming a Prattville Volunteer Fire Fighter with just 2 more training sessions to go. He is also an active member with India Cultural Association of East Alabama.

Dr. Tejinder Sara was appointed as Interim Dean for the College of Business and Information Science, Tuskegee University, AL recently by the University’s President, Dr. Benjamin Payton.

As Interim Dean, Dr. Sara will be expected to carry out his duties with full authority of a permanent Dean. He will be responsible to the President of the University through the Provost for the effective and efficient operations of the College of Business and Information Science and its component programs, personnel and facilities. In addition to these administrative duties, Dr. Sara will also play a major role in coordinating the move to the new facility, developing the plans, as well as the financial and human resources necessary for enhancing the College of Business and Information Science.

Dr. Sara is well qualified to hold the position of Interim Dean. He began his tenure at Tuskegee as an Assistant Professor in 1973 and served as an Associate Professor and as Associate Dean and Professor from 1989-1999. He currently holds the rank of Professor with tenure and chairs the Personnel and Curriculum committees for the College of Business and Information Science. Dr. Sara received the undergraduate degree from California State University in Los Angeles, and the Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His fields of special interest are Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Development, Business Strategy and Outsourcing. Dr. Sara holds membership in Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and the Atlantic Economic Society. He has received the “Teacher of the Year”, and the Faculty Research” and the “Service” awards from the College of Business and Information Science. Dr. Sara is well published and his research is included in the Journal of Economic and Politics, Business and Economic Review, International Advances in Economic Research and Spectrum. His professional growth and development projects include work with Raytheon Corporation, 3m Corporation, Chase Manhattan Bank, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Spencer Foundation and the U. S. Department of Education.

Dr Jeginder and Nimi Sara have been married for 32 years. They have two daughters. Both of them work in Atlanta. Malti, the elder daughter, did her undergraduate and graduate studies at Auburn University. Mala, the younger daughter, did her undergraduate studies at Florida State University and graduate studies at University of Florida. Mala is married and her husband is a lawyer, who obtained his law degrees from Tulane University and Univeristy of Florida.

Dr. K. Raja Reddy was born in Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh, India. He came to the United States in 1967 after obtaining his Medical Degree in India. After years of training  he became a cardiologist. After practicing for a few years in New York, he moved to Auburn, Alabama, in 1978.  He worked for twenty years at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Tuskegee, Alabama in different capacities including serving as  Chief of Medicine and Cardiology. From 1998 onwards Dr. Reddy has been in private practice.  He has been intimately involved with the activities of India Cultural Association of East Alabama and was its President in 2004.

He is married to Dr. Rohini Reddy.  Dr. Rohini Reddy practiced as a Psychiatrist in Opelika/Auburn for 24 years.  In 2006, she was awarded "Respect Award”  by the Alabama Mental Health Department. In her honor, East Alabama Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center has established a tax Deductible fund called, “K. Rohini Reddy, M. D. Medical Fund.”   Money in the Fund will be used to pay for expenses of those consumers who are unable to pay for the needed medical tests and services.

The Reddy’s  have two grown up sons, Uday,  a medical doctor and Sreenath a Lawyer. They are also the proud grand parents of two boys, Keshav and Arjun.

The Reddys have been involved actively in different civic and philanthropic organizations.   In the City of Auburn, for example, they contributed to the development of the Hickory Dickorey Park and to the development of the Hindu Temple of Atlanta, in Atlanta, Georgia,   where they also serve as Trustees.

Now settled in Atlanta  after living in Auburn for 28 years, the Reddy’s cherish memories of their stay in Auburn, for the place, for the people and for the friendship.  They summarize their  love for Auburn  by the statement that

" Life will never be the same for them."