UWI Connect June 2011

Website: www.alumnionline.uwi.edu

Volume 6, Issue 4

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“One UWI, One Alumni Family”

June - August 2011

UWI Connect: For Alumni, Donors, Parents and Friends

Editorial It behoves us, as we devote our energies to planning for the future that we remember to experience every day to the fullest as we work towards our goals.

The last four months have featured the London Riots, a deepening global recession and austerity measures that are impacting on all areas of our lives. Although we find ourselves in challenging times, I believe that UWI’s core values and commitment to excellence in teaching, research and engaging with the outside world will ensure that we continue to offer strong and sustainable tertiary education thus ensuring the success of our graduates.

It was John F. Kennedy who said, “Change is the law of life ... and those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” Twenty-first century life is one of constant change, however UWI graduates are not making the mistake of looking only to the past or present to find ways to cope. They are not “missing the future”, in fact in many instances as illustrated in the Global and Regional Impact sections, they innovate and create the future. The French Philosopher Montaigne stated, “It is the journey, not the arrival that matters” and it behoves us, as we devote our energies to planning for the future that we remember to experience every day to the fullest as we work towards our goals .. and you will see how alumni have been involving and enjoying themselves across the world in the UWI Grads on the Move and the UWIAA features.

You will find the Vice Chancellor’s perspective regarding the UWI strategic plan forward thinking and will be impressed by the events that have taken place across the four campuses of our institution. In looking at this snapshot of UWI life and the lives of its graduates from June – August 2011, you can see why I feel positive about what the future holds for UWI and why you, the UWI alumni family, can feel proud of your peers and their achievements as well as your University’s progress. I encourage you to continuously show your Pelican Pride!

Celia Davidson Francis Editor-in-Chief

The UWI Alumni Association (UWIAA) encourages all graduates to send articles/information to UWI Connect (iad@alumni.uwi.edu). www.alumnionline.uwi.edu/donatenow

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CONTENTS News from the UWI Centre

GLOBAL IMPACT

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Increasing food production and improving nutrition

11 UWI STAT receives UN accreditation

UWI Grads

Very Important Pelican Ramphal urges Caribbean integration

On the Move

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Rappin’ with

alumni

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Fulbright Scholarship Awardees

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UWI Connect Editorial Team: Celia Davidson Francis (Editor-in-Chief), Elizabeth Buchanan-Hind, Lacey-Ann Bartley, Marcia Erskine, Aileen Standard-Goldson, Beverley Pereira, Stephanie Alleyne-Bishop, Kellie Magnus and Candice York.

Sources: Student and Campus Newsletters, News Items and Announcements, Campus Communications and Public Relations Offices, Faculties, Departments, UWIAA, Campus Electronic Messaging Centres, the Open

Campus, UWIMAA, UWI Medical Alumni Secretariat, Campus Alumni Offices, Office of Administration, UWI STAT Corps and others.

Photography: UWI STAT Corps, Campus Photographers, Graduates and Friends of UWI Publishing Services: Stratcom Marketing Services Limited Yvonne Graham, graduate, Mona School of Business, UWI

A publication of the Institutional Advancement Division, Vice Chancellery No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher or agent.

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Embarking on a New Strategic Plan There is nothing more lacking in “sex appeal” than talking about Strategic Planning. In many organisations the planning process is undertaken only by its leaders usually with the aid of highly compensated consultants who come up with thick, hard to read documents that are promptly put in the desk drawers of employees on receipt.

There exists considerable evidence that organisations with a clear vision, mission, and well executed plan (in which employees are actively engaged) are likeliest to prevail in an increasingly competitive global market place. In the world of higher education, universities, particularly in the Caribbean, are facing more intense competition even as financial support from governments is declining. Achieving unity of purpose and sustained commitment broadly has been challenging in a University serving sixteen different countries, each with their own needs and in a region where regionalism and integration is under threat. This requires great resolve both by leaders and constituents.

Despite the above challenges, the UWI has prepared and to varying degrees enacted three Strategic Plans, the current one being the 2007-2012 Plan.

The process of preparing our next 2012-2017 Plan has begun, the “kick-off” happening at an annual retreat in August at St. Augustine.

The conduct of annual retreats has been a feature of our 2007-2012 Plan, where the broad leadership has met to

2012 -2017

assess progress and identify gaps that must be addressed.

Thanks to these plans, we have made unquestionable gains in the past decade. The most dramatic has been the greater than doubling of student numbers on all campuses so that UWI’s total student numbers increased from 20,000 in 2001 to greater than 46,000 today. There has been marked expansion and upgrading of facilities on all three residential campuses and this has included the introduction of advanced technologies to meet the expanded teaching and research needs of the institution’s students and academic staff. Thanks to the current Plan (2007-2012), there has been broad revision of the curricula of most programmes to ensure graduates are better able to meet the needs of the global market place. To upgrade teaching skills, all new academics are required to get a certificate in teaching and it has been rewarding to see that a sizeable number of long-standing academics have availed themselves of this opportunity – it is unusual in most universities to find sizeable numbers of their academics being “taught to teach”. Efforts to improve service to students enact substantial changes to our postgraduate programmes – particularly with respect to supervision and quality control - and to expand research, have all represented gains in the current plan.

In the past 62 years, the Caribbean people have created a UWI that can be an enduring legacy that can drive our growth and development.

Prof. E. Nigel Harris Perhaps the most daring venture of the current Plan was to launch the Open Campus designed to better meet the needs of the UWI-12 countries without campuses and to expand distance education capacity.

The upgrading of the University’s Planning and Development Office (OPD) in 2008 and the decision to appoint a Pro-Vice-Chancellor to lead this office recognised the critical importance of not only constructing a Plan, but developing measurable indices to monitor its progress and to coordinate the work of leaders charged with achievement of the Plan’s goals.

During the period 2008-2011, the OPD was ably led by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Bhoendradatt Tewarie, former Principal of the St. Augustine Campus.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Planning and Development Professor Andrew S. Downes has assumed responsibility as of May 2011 and has thrown himself enthusiastically into the 2012-2017 planning effort reaching out quickly to the broad community in an effort to ensure input, buy-in and support from the start.

The Balanced Score Card System will be used for planning and execution of the next Plan to better ensure community buy-in, sustained commitment and targeted financing of

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...New Strategic Plan the Plan. Simultaneous with the current planning effort are a series of workshops and other activities to improve leadership at all levels of the institution.

While there will certainly be new goals in the new Plan, we shall continue to work on current areas.

As the world remains gripped in the throes of the worst financial crisis since the great depression of the 1930s, Caribbean government are increasingly embattled and finding it difficult to finance tertiary education.

Re-positioning the University to be less dependent on government funding must be a central goal as we move forward. Strengthening our regional cohesion and building more robust international links and visibility are other areas likely to receive much attention.

In planning for the future, tenets of our 2012 vision enunciated in our current Plan must continue to drive us forward.

“The UWI will be an innovative, internationally competitive, contemporary university deeply rooted in the Caribbean, committed to creating the best possible future for all our stakeholders. It will be the university of first choice for the region’s students and talented academics. It will provide a truly supportive environment that rewards excellence and it will be agile enough to thrive in a dynamic global environment.”

Great universities of the world have withstood wars, famine, pestilence and other tribulations, because their people were imbued with a sense that knowledge, learning, discovery, and their history and traditions needed to be preserved, celebrated and continually developed. In the past 62 years, the Caribbean people have created a UWI that can be an enduring legacy that can drive our growth and development – it is our responsibility as a people to ensure that this institution not only survives but thrives.

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News from the UWI Centre UWI Vice Chancellor Professor E. Nigel Harris, was conferred with Guyana’s third highest national award – the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) for his contribution in the sphere of education. President Bharrat Jagdeo, made the appointment to mark the country’s 45th anniversary of independence. Born in Guyana, Professor Harris has been UWI Vice Chancellor since 2004 and is the current Chairman of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the Council of the Caribbean Epidemiology Research Centre (CAREC) and the UWI Institute of International Relations as well as the Chairman of the London-based Association of Commonwealth Universities.

UWI Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Principal Clement Sankat was also conferred with the Cacique Crown for his contribution to Education. He was born in Guyana and has been engaged in Departmental, Faculty and University administration and leadership at the UWI for more than thirty years.

UWI Vice Chancellery Building progressing Work is progressing on the new UWI Vice Chancellery administrative complex which is being funded with a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank. Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Hon. Bruce Golding; UWI Vice Chancellor, Professor E. Nigel Harris; UWI Mona Principal, Professor Gordon Shirley and UWI Open Campus Principal, Prof. Hazel Simmons-McDonald, participated in the symbolic turning of the soil for construction activities for the building which is opposite the main entrance of the UWI Mona Campus. The Vice Chancellery, commonly referred to as the “Centre” is the UWI’s central administrative arm and is largely strategic with a focus on areas like policy, planning and The University of the West Indies Open Campus Principal, Prof. Hazel development, Simmons-McDonald (right) greets Jamaica’s Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding at the ground breaking ceremony for the new UWI Vice Chancellery interface with complex. Looking on are UWI Vice Chancellor Prof. E. Nigel Harris (left) and governments, Principal, UWI (Mona), Prof. Gordon Shirley. quality assurance, generating of funding and maintenance of the UWI’s international linkages.

At the ground breaking ceremony, it was noted that the UWI is responding to the exponential growth in demand for tertiary education - and providing more expertise and technical support for governments. The need for a new UWI Vice Chancellery was noted as far back as 1984 in the UWI Chancellor’s Governance Review. The new building will house the units of the Vice Chancellery currently located in various overcrowded buildings across the Mona Campus and elsewhere and is expected to facilitate more cohesive administration and management of the UWI against a background of ongoing expansion in academic and research programmes and the institution’s critical role in national, regional and global development. The projected completion date is March 2012.

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Celebrating

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Cave Hill wins Caribbean Case Study Analysis

CARICOM Triennial Award for Women

The UWI Cave Hill Campus celebrated its first victory in the Caribbean Case Study Analysis Competition by dethroning the previously unbeaten Mona Campus on the Cave Hill Campus recently. This year, three teams from the Cave Hill, Mona and St. Augustine campuses, took part, putting their business case analysis and presentation skills to the test in analysing the Richard Ivey School of Business-produced Coral Divers Resort case study. The Cave Hill team became the first to break the consecutive run of the Mona team which had won the three previous competitions. St. Augustine was second while Mona was third. Cave Hill received the challenge trophy as well as US$1,500 cash. St. Augustine received a team prize of US$750, while Mona received a team cash prize of US$500. The CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank Chairman’s prizes each valued at US$500 were also awarded with the Cave Hill team winning the prize for the Most Original Presentation.

The UWI Cave Hill Deputy Principal and Gender Professor, Dr. Violet Eudine Barriteau received the 10th Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Triennial Award for Women. She was honoured for her remarkable contribution to the field of gender and development and her role

A joint initiative by CIBC FirstCaribbean and the UWI, the annual competition is funded by CIBC FirstCaribbean which recently contributed US$75,000 over a period of three years. The competition is open to universities across the region and promotes the use of the CIBC FirstCaribbean business cases, as well as other Caribbean business cases, as a teaching device in University classrooms, enabling students to examine classroom theory in practical business realities.

as a powerful exemplar of self-respect, self-discipline, vision and leadership.

The award was presented to Barriteau at the opening ceremony of the CARICOM Summit in St. Kitts and Nevis. The Grenadian-born Barbadian citizen has served both the regional and national education sector with distinction for nearly 40 years.

She is considered a strong advocate of gender and development and has made a phenomenal contribution to the advancement of women’s empowerment and gender equality, through her advocacy, teaching, research and publications. Barriteau joins persons such as the late Dame Nita Barrow of Barbados, another Grenadian, Dr. Peggy Antrobus, Guyanese nationals Justice Desiree Bernard; Professor Joycelin Massiah and Magda Pollard, Jamaicans Dr. Lucille Mair and Dr. Barbara Bailey, and

UWI Students Excel at World University Games 2011 Hansle Parchment and Jason Young won medals for UWI at the recently concluded World University Games held in Shenzhen, China from August 12th - 23rd. Hansle, a third year Hansle Parchment student in the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences at UWI (Mona), won Jamaica’s sixth gold medal in the men’s 110m hurdles and ran a personal best of 13.24 seconds. Parchment is now Jamaica’s third fastest sprint hurdler in the event. He is also the Gibson Relay record holder in the event.

Young, a second year student in the Faculty of Social Sciences placed joint second in the 200 metres event. Both are recipients of UWI Mona Sports Scholarships.

Trinidadian Professor Rhoda Reddock, who have received the award in the past.

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Very Important Pelican UWI graduate Dr. Gary F. Fraser became the President of the University of Belize on August 1, 2011. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Guyana, his Diploma and M.Sc. in International Relations at the Institute of International Relations at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, and his Ph.D. at the Graduate Institute of International Studies of the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He has held fellowships from the Swiss Federal Government, Cornell University, the Social Science Research Council in New York, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation of Chicago, the University of Rochester, and has been a Visiting Fellow at the University of Maryland and Princeton University. The University of Belize is a national institution established to foster Belize’s development by producing graduates who are socially and ecologically responsible, analytical, self-confident, disciplined, ethical, entrepreneurial, and skilled communicators and who are committed to using these skills and values for Belize’s enrichment.

Dr. Fraser was born in Guyana and has pursued a multi-faceted career as a high school teacher, a researcher on indigenous and other populations in the Mazaruni area of Guyana, and as a project officer for the Caribbean Conference of Churches working in both Guyana and Suriname. He has also served as a Human Rights Observer for the Organization of American States (O.A.S.) in Haiti. His previous post was at the Pennsylvania State University where he was a faculty member in the Departments of African and African American Studies and History. From 2002-2003, he was the Director of the Penn State Africana Research Center. He authored Ambivalent Anti-Colonialism: the United States and the Genesis of West Indian Independence, 1940-64 (Greenwood, 1994) among other works. We salute this proud UWI graduate.

For VIP contact: celia.davidson-francis@alumni.uwi.edu

UWI Shines at Commonwealth Summer School Dr. John Kirkland, Deputy Secretary General of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was so delighted with the performance of UWI student Crystal Powell at the first ever Commonwealth Summer School that he wrote the UWI Vice Chancellor Professor E. Nigel Harris in order to highlight it.

Member universities were asked to give bursary nominations and as a result Crystal Christina Powell attended. Crystal was an extraordinary ambassador for both UWI and the region generally, taking a lead role in several activities over the week organised as a means of encouraging future students to apply.

The school was a huge success, attracting some 70 participants drawn from all regions of the Commonwealth. Financially, the ACU managed to secure sufficient sponsorship to hold the ACU contribution within budget. The Senior Management Team is keen to try to make this an annual event, although this will of course be subject to funding.

Dr. Kirkland noted: “It is hoped that should the opportunity arise, UWI will be able to provide us with candidates as good as Crystal in the future.” www.alumnionline.uwi.edu/donatenow

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Regional Feature

Ramphal urges Caribbean integration Sir Shridath Ramphal’s central theme for the inaugural G. Arthur Brown public lecture in July 2011, was “Vision and Leadership: The Infinite Unity of Caribbean Needs’’. In it he warned against the endangering of our Caribbean Community by a “crippling separatism’’ and argued that the leaders of the 15-member regional economic integration movement, now in its 38th year, should resist the “old entrancement of local control’’. He urged the leaders not to slow down as the severe Caribbean situation and the current global environment require a targeted, mature and unified regionalism.

His regional overview and assessment of these needs, encompassed the vision that led to the establishment of the 15-member high-level West Indian Commission that produced the seminal 1992 Time for Action Report, and extended to the recent 32nd CARICOM Summit in St. Kitts.

A significant study recently conducted by the St. Augustine-based Institute of International Relations of The University of the West Indies and entitled Sir Shridath Ramphal Caribbean Regional Integration is viewed by Ramphal as the most authoritative contemporary commentary on the issue of Caribbean integration and very specially, of the challenges facing it. In its executive summary, the study highlights that there is a sense that the optimistic era of Caribbean integration may well have passed just at the time when it is most desperately needed. The difficulties facing the region are no longer simply about competing in a globalising economy. He pointed out that the study noted, “they are existential threats which bring into question the fundamental visibility of Caribbean society itself — climate change; transnational crime; the decline of regional industries; food security; governance challenges; international diplomacy and so on, which can only be effectively addressed by co-ordinated regional responses.’’

The study stated it cannot be stressed just how critical the present juncture is, adding that this may well be the last chance to save the formal integration process in the Caribbean as we know it, to set the region on a new development path, and another opportunity might not present itself in the future.

Ramphal warned against the CARICOM leaders’ decision in St. Kitts to slow down the integration pace. Sir Shridath is anxious about the future of CARICOM and is urging the region’s leaders to pick up the pace towards regional integration.

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GLOBAL IMPACT Farmers: the authority on Climate Change?

This article written by Karla LeFevre, won the FPAS Principal’s Award for Best Research Publication. (Edited) Caribbean farmers have noticed the impact of climate change and the article we share in this issue highlights a study in Jamaica that could provide useful information for food security in not only the Caribbean but other areas of the world.

In scorching heat and dry wind, geographer Donovan Campbell works alongside farmers in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. It is June and the perennial mid-summer drought has already arrived, as evident by wilted scallions and deflated watermelons dotting the hillside. As farmers dip mason jars into buckets of water to carry to each plant, Campbell presses the record button on his video camera. He interviews them as they spread dried guinea grass over their fields to retain precious soil moisture, and reminisce about the years when rainfall was more reliable.

He wants to learn how they manage to grow food during a drought.

Hoping to bring science to bear on their situation, Campbell relocated from The

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A hearty 75-year old farmer in Southern St. Elizabeth, Jamaica prepares his field for planting his next crop of potatoes. Small-scale farmers in the region have honed a complex crop schedule to fit the local climate, which has long cycled between torrential rainfall and dry spells. (Courtesy D. Campbell) University of the West Indies in Kingston to St. Elizabeth in 2007. A native Jamaican from a rural family, Campbell focused on farmers who tend three acres or less. Their small-scale farms are the backbone of domestic food production. But their farms are in danger of disappearing, pummeled by years of drought, water costs that doubled in just two years, plus higher prices for supplies, like mulch and fertilizer. Such problems all but blotted out Jamaican onion farms in three years, with 800 hectares [2,000 acres] dwindling to a handful by 1999.

Of all these problems, drought is the hardest to solve. To make matters worse, the farmers have noticed the mid-summer drought arriving earlier and sticking around longer. What once seemed extreme, has become the norm. If scientific measurements also pointed to changing climate patterns, it might help shape solutions or even bring government attention to the situation. So he set about to learn what the farmers experienced, and to find out if there were data to support their intuitions.

Jamaica’s breadbasket is nestled in the southern section of St. Elizabeth parish, where over seventy percent of people depend on farming for their livelihood.

Fresh scallion, sweet peppers, melons, and cassava - a root tuber ground into flour and used for making bammies, or flatbread - have fed Jamaicans for generations. Steep farmlands run south from the slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the rocky coast of the Caribbean Sea. Ironically, this breadbasket sits in a rain shadow and receives less rainfall than the rest of the island. When prevailing winds flow northeast from the Atlantic across Jamaica, they bring moist, warm air necessary for forming rain clouds.

But the Santa Cruz Mountains block the passage of the prevailing winds and the rain systems they bring, leaving Southern St. Elizabeth on the dry side of the mountains.

Talking to the farmers, Campbell learned that they have honed a complex crop schedule over many decades to fit the local climate. Two dry seasons, one in July and one from

Though their tools and methods are simple, the farmers have a complex understanding of local climate patterns.

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Farmers: the authority on Climate Change?

December through March, interrupt the growing season. So they plant quick-growing crops from April through June, and this early-season harvest finances their late-season cash crops, which they grow from August through November. The cash crop season also coincides with the main hurricane season, which can bring crippling storms and floods.

to crops. But for farmers, timing is critical. Misjudging a season by one week can undermine their ability to bring a mature crop to market, and to finance their next growing season. It made them look at the data in a different way and they found something very important, that drought is much more prevalent at the beginning of the year.

Even so, drought poses a greater challenge, particularly for small-scale farmers who lack running water and irrigation systems. So when the dry season arrives, they must tap into limited reserves of water stored in shared stone water tanks, called catchments, and eventually into limited reserves of cash to have these catchments refilled. They also have to pay for more guinea grass mulch in an attempt to lock in soil moisture, and for more fertilizer to coax their ailing crops along. A farmer will expend a lot of his resources during a drought. And when below-average rainfall turns the dry season into an extended drought, Jamaica’s shallow aquifers quickly dry up too, leaving everyone’s buckets and mason jars empty.

The Jamaican government or relief organisations could help these farmers.

When should they step in? The data on drought timing provided the answer. It gives a way to not only address drought, but to address the early drought as compared to the later drought. Supplemental water delivery to farmers during this critical time, for

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example, could provide substantial relief.

Yet larger questions still loom. What are the best options for helping farmers adapt? Will drought get even worse in the future? To build a clear picture, Campbell continues to work with farmers and is expanding the study area to other agricultural regions in Jamaica. Meanwhile, Gamble and Curtis are busy analysing satellite vegetation data to understand how drought affects local crops. The team plans to outfit fields with rain gauges and involve farmers in active climate monitoring.

They hope that, by strengthening the view from space with what the farmers see in their fields, these questions too will be answered.

Campbell needed a long series of rainfall records to show that patterns had truly changed. He worked with climatologists Doug Gamble at the University North Carolina, Wilmington and Scott Curtis at East Carolina University to obtain satellite data.

First the team studied average monthly rainfall maps online for the entire island, then focused in on St. Elizabeth in 25 kilometre (16 mile) chunks. The researchers found that drought events have indeed become more frequent and severe over the past twenty years.

The team made a breakthrough when they looked at the data through the farmers’ eyes. If they hadn’t talked to the farmers and realised how important the early season is, they wouldn’t have broken it into an early season and a late season. Most previous work had focused on the intensity and length of drought as the most threatening factors

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A boy in Southern St. Elizabeth, Jamaica manually waters each of his family’s cabbage plants, a technique locally known as hand-wetting. Without running water and irrigation systems, small-scale farmers in the region rely on shared water catchments and, if they can afford the steep prices, water delivered by truck. Years of frequent and severe droughts in the region have made it critical for scientists to understand how farmers cope with drought. (Courtesy D. Campbell)

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How can the Caribbean’s food import bill be cut, food production be increased and nutrition improved? The University of the West Indies, McGill University in Canada and Guyana are coming together to find out.

GLOBAL IMPACT Increasing food production and improving nutrition

In early August, CDN$5 million was approved for a forty-month study to address food and nutrition insecurity mainly in vulnerable areas. The Caribbean’s food import bill is estimated to be approximately US$4 billion per year and this project would find ways to assist the region to reduce its dependence on imported food. Guyana and other countries in the Caribbean with immense food-producing potential and capabilities are to be targeted to show leadership in the CARICOM Agriculture Initiative. Other areas to be addressed include irrigation and water management, effects of climate change, post-harvest technology, development of improved fertilizer systems such as drip-irrigation and nutrition education.

Funding is being provided by the International Research Development Centre of Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), in keeping with a two-year old recommendation by the Group of 8 industrialised nations - France, Italy, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Russia - in response to the global food crisis.

McGill University’s involvement stems from a Canadian initiative for academic institutions to invest in research projects in developing countries. The Jagdeo initiative stresses the importance of food security in the CARICOM region and the proposal was submitted in conjunction with The University of the West Indies and the International Agricultural Research and Extension Institute.

CARIBBEAN PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY (CARPHA) Prime Minister the Hon. Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad and Tobago signed the agreement for the establishment of the Caribbean Public Health Agency on July 1, 2011 at the CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in Basseterre, St. Kitts. This was witnessed by the Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, host of the conference; Professor George Alleyne, UWI Chancellor; the Hon. Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan, Foreign Affairs and Communication Minister (Trinidad and Tobago) and the Hon. Stephen Cadiz, Trade and Industry Minister (Trinidad and Tobago).

CARPHA brings the Caribbean’s public health knowledge and expertise together, preventing duplication of effort and resources. This integration and collaboration will allow a coordinated approach to public health issues and disease outbreaks.

The Hon. Kamla Persad-Bissessar Prime Minister, Trinidad and Tobago

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GLOBAL IMPACT Biosciences and commercial research

The UWI and BioJet International Ltd. have partnered in commercial and biosciences research. As a part of the agreement, BioJet a leading global supply chain integrator for aviation and transport industry products including renewable jet fuel, Green diesel, feedstock oil, and feedstock co-products, will fund research at UWI’s Cave Hill Campus leading to discoveries and commercialisation of biofuels and other renewable energy. BioJet will also finance the creation of the UWI/Biojet International Biofuel Research Institute.

The partnership is intended to develop UWI’s capacity for research into renewable energy technologies, whether from plant, waste biomass or algae, as well as new graduate careers in energy biosciences, and those pertinent to the logistics and supply chain management of biofuel distribution. An equitable sharing of intellectual property outcomes from research into microalgae for the production of biofuels and derivatives is part of the agreement.

According to Sir Hilary Beckles, Principal of the UWI’s Cave Hill Campus, “this agreement is one of the cornerstone science and technology projects that will undergird the transformation of our campus and the region with new career options, and serve as a knowledge based platform for the creation of wealth through bioenergy research”. Mitch Hawkins, CEO of BioJet stated, “We operate throughout the entire biofuel value chain and research is key to all aspects of our global competitiveness. The Caribbean is a major area of interest for our Company and we see UWI (Cave Hill) as a valuable partner in the future success of our operations.

The July 1st approval of ASTM International allowing 50 percent blends of aviation biofuel derived from feedstocks such as camelina, jatropha and microalgae, is a game changing decision for the worldwide transportation industry and opens up tremendous opportunities for both UWI and Biojet International”.

The University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) have initiated their joint Scholarship Programme. In its first year, the UWI-CCRIF programme provided scholarships worth US$66,000 to six students at the University pursuing studies in areas related to disaster management.

US$ 66,000 in CCRIF Disaster Management Scholarships will help the region in the future

University Registrar Mr. C. Will Iton has noted the University’s appreciation to CCRIF for the assistance in building the region’s capacity for effective disaster management. Increased collaboration will result in the further development of forward-looking solutions geared towards reducing the risks created by the pronounced regional natural hazard landscape.

CCRIF hopes to be able to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with UWI to work in other areas that support disaster risk reduction – for example, by providing CCRIF’s catastrophe (CAT) modelling tools to the University as a means of building technical capacity in the region in the areas of catastrophe modelling and risk management.

The UWI is pleased to work with CCRIF to enhance regional capacity in disaster management. The students receiving CCRIF scholarships for the 2010/2011 year include three graduate students in the MSc Disaster Management programme at the Mona Campus (Jamaica): Ms. Gerarda Ramcharansingh, Mr. Kevin Douglas, and Mr. Dorlan Burrell; and three undergraduate students: Ms. Odene Baker, in the Department of Geography & Geology (Mona Campus); and Ms. Wanda Monrose and Mr. Rhon-Paul Soltau, both in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, St. Augustine Campus (Trinidad). The students will increase the Caribbean’s corps of disaster management experts.

The UWI-CCRIF Scholarship Programme is part of CCRIF’s Technical Assistance Programme designed to help Caribbean countries deepen their understanding of natural hazards and catastrophe risk, and the potential impacts of climate change on the region.

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CHILDREN with mental disorders, developmental abnormalities, and congenital heart disease are among those expected to benefit from a new cutting-edge genetics research facility: the Cytogenetics Laboratory, UWI (Mona), which is the only such facility in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Genetic Research The UWI Department of Pathology officially opened its new lab in late July 2011 with J$20 million in financial assistance from the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund. Children with certain inherited medical conditions, such as seizure disorders, will benefit. Geneticists will focus on the detection of chromosomal abnormalities. The chromosome analysis done there should also help guide treatment of infertile couples and some women experiencing recurrent miscarriages, eliminating the need to access this service outside of the Caribbean.

This is not the first time such a facility is being established at the University. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a similar lab where cytogenetic analysis was being performed, founded by Dr. Marigold Thorburn, a British-born naturalised Jamaican. Much work was done on chromosomal studies by this extremely active researcher who produced seminal and distinguished publications. Unfortunately funding from the Wellcome Trust ceased in the 1970s causing the laboratory to close and forcing Caribbean patients to seek cytogenetic service outside the region. On July 29, 2011, at the opening of the new cytogenetics facility, Dr. Thorburn was able to see a “state-of-the-art” version of her lab open, with the help of the CHASE Fund. Chromosomal abnormalities are responsible for many cancers, and recurrent abnormalities are seen in many leukaemias, lymphomas

and soft tissue tumours. The identification of chromosomal abnormalities allows for more accurate classification and prognosis. It also helps determine the type of therapy that the patient should receive. Cytogenetics is that branch of genetics that involves the study of chromosomes in order to detect abnormalities which may cause disease, for example, an extra chromosome 21 causes Down’s Syndrome in children. The current standard of care in the majority of obstetric services worldwide dictates that pregnant women deemed at high risk for chromosomal abnormalities should have cytogenetic testing of the foetus in utero.

UWI’s involvement in an

Energy and Climate Partnership While visiting Jamaica, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, announced progress on existing programmes and new initiatives between the United States and the Caribbean as part of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) on June 23, 2011. Delivering remarks at the high-level Caribbean-U.S. Conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Clinton announced a new Caribbean Climate Change Adaptation Initiative. She invited all Caribbean countries to join the new ECPA initiative to build permanent, regional capacity in the area of climate change adaptation. The initiative will focus on acquiring and modeling Caribbean-specific data for use in planning and policy decisions.

The University of the West Indies has agreed to partner with American universities to expand research on problems and solutions specific to the Caribbean and to serve as a hub to connect scientists from across the Caribbean and from the United States with policy-makers. Through a grant to Higher Education for Development, the ECPA Caribbean Adaptation Initiative will partner U.S. higher education institutions with The University of the West Indies in order to enhance research, expand higher education programmes, and promote outreach to policy-makers.

Clinton announced that six Caribbean governments will receive technical assistance grants to accelerate renewable energy development: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Launched by President Barack Obama, ECPA now consists of 40 different projects throughout the Americas focusing on everything from developing renewable energy sources to mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. Clinton also announced that the Caribbean had been chosen as the first region to join the recently launched International Diaspora Engagement Alliance (IDEA) Marketplace. The alliance brings together governments, corporations, and non-profit organisations to make it easier for diaspora communities to promote trade and investment, to start businesses, or develop other projects that will benefit their countries of origin.

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Rappin’ with

alumni UWI graduate Howard G. Hamilton entered the Faculty of Natural Sciences at UWI (Mona) in 1957. He is married to the first female Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the UWI, Professor Emerita Marlene Hamilton. They have two daughters, Tracey (UWI graduate) and Michele

What is your least memorable occasion at UWI? Being summoned to the Registrar’s office (Hector Wynter) and being threatened to have my scholarship taken away for not attending lectures. I buckled down after that.

and two granddaughters Ashley and Zoe. When asked about his first memory of UWI he says, “It was awesome with all that space and beautiful landscaped gardens. I was fascinated with all the foreigners and their strange accents”. He found the opportunity to learn about the customs and lifestyles of other Caribbean countries invaluable. His favourite lecturer was Dr. Michael Locke “because he took a personal interest and invited us to his house for tutorials every week”.

What was your hall name and how did you get it?

"Would you believe Irvine? - Irvine was not like other halls .. it shared space with girls ... interesting ..”, he says with a smile.

What is your most memorable occasion at UWI? 1. Going to lectures in a red gown and formal dinner every night.

2. Placing a fiesty medical student’s (Benjamin now deceased) car on a table in the dining room.

If you could do it all again what would you do the same and what would you change?

I would become more involved in extra curricular activities. University should be a place to actively participate in major sporting activities. I would have instituted a work-related programme to supplement costs.

If you could give a few words of advice to incoming students what would you say to them?

Treat the transition from adolescence to adulthood as a period to mold character and equip yourself for being self sufficient. Be an active participant, be questioning and open-minded because this is a whole new world as you learn to be independent.

He remains a proud UWI graduate and is always interested to hear about developments at his Alma Mater.

For “Rappin” contact elizabethbuchananhind@uwimona.edu.jm New Google Service improves UWI Email for Life: We are pleased to advise all our UWI Email for Life holders that Google is transitioning all Google Apps email to full Google Email Accounts; providing users with the full services of a GMAIL account.

What this means for you: This change will open many more Google services to you. No longer will you need your own personal accounts to use these products. For example, you will be able to share project images with Picasa Web Albums, track industry news in Google Reader, advertise online with Adwords, and much more — all with your UWI Email for Life accounts.

ALUMNI Important – Your security and privacy: Neither the UWI Email for Life Administrator, nor the Institutional ONLINE Advancement Division (IAD) have access to the email content of UWI Email for Life members at ANY time. login credentials are private and there is no breach with the integrity of these accounts. The sole GETS EVEN Your responsibility of the IAD is to provide the value added service to Alumni, i.e. the provisioning of the new services through Google. Your UWI Email for Life service is like any other Google/Gmail service and BETTER! related as such follows the same security requirements as any other. Your privacy and confidentially is maintained at all times. With the new upgrade, your account will behave like a typical Full Google Account.

We hope you enjoy these new services.

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STUDENT

Point of View

Presidents of the Student Guilds of The University of the West Indies (left to right) Odwin Trenton, Stephanie Abrahams and Amilcar Sanatan.

Caribbean Regionalism is high on the agenda of the Student Guilds of the four campuses of the UWI. The Inter Campus Guild Conference of The University of the West Indies met at the Cave Hill Campus in late July to discuss the issue.

President of the Cave Hill Campus Student Guild, Odwin Trenton, noted that they are trying to create a culture of regionalism so future University students wil build on the work they have started. “The division we see amongst ourselves is an affront to that regional effort that our founding fathers believed in, and we want to revitalise and ignite that spirit again in our people that as a regional block we are worth so much

more than individual islands,” he said. The Presidents recognised that the average Caribbean person has not been engaged in the process and they need to understand the benefits of regional integration. They feel that this achievement cannot be done only by Caribbean leaders or by the so-called intellectuals, but has to be a collective effort where there is movement at every single level. President of the Mona Campus Student Guild, Stephanie Abrahams agreed and believes that there is strength in numbers and as a region of many small states it is important to stick together to reach one common goal. She explained that the various Guilds were not just identifying problems but were looking at where other people had gone wrong and seeking to find solutions so some form of regionalism could take place.

She feels that they, the Guilds have to start the movement and that they must take it to the youth so that when they are growing up they will express it to everyone else in order for us to have continuity and for it to have a long-lasting time frame.

The Student Guilds plan to host public lectures which would be open to all and not just the campus community, in order to publicise this important regionalism message. Note: All UWI Guild Presidents are UWI STAT Ambassadors.

GRADUATE

Youth leading the way to regional integration

UWI graduate and UWI STAT Alumni Ambassador Rene Gayle excelled this year and received three scholarships: one to do a summer course at the Hague Academy of International Law; one to pursue her Masters in Law at the Queen Mary University and the AECID Scholarship. The AECID Scholarship is a development scholarship issued by the Spanish government to persons living in developing countries who wish to pursue studies in Spain. She has been studying Spanish and knew that the benefit to enable her to improve her fluency in the language would be enormous. After her course in International Law in Holland she left for Barcelona on July 24, 2011 to begin a month-long summer course in Spanish at the University of Barcelona. The value of the scholarship was 1200 euros and covered the cost of the course. She notes that the scholarship provided her with an opportunity that she has always wanted. “My desire to become fluent in Spanish was rekindled when I participated in a trilingual competition dealing with human rights under the Inter-American system.

All of the Spanish and Portuguese speakers were fluent in English and their native language, while the English speakers mainly spoke English only. I realised that this put us at a grave disadvantage because it was a requirement of all the organs of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, that employees had a working knowledge of at least two languages of the Court. I decided then to improve my Spanish so that I could have the opportunity of working with the Inter-American Court or Commission.

A second-language does equal a competitive global advantage and I urge all UWI graduates to ensure that they have both a good command of the English language as well as a second language in order to be fully prepared for their professional careers.”

Point of View A Second Language equals a global advantage

For SPOV and GPOV contact lacey-ann.bartley@alumni.uwi.edu

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UWI STAT receives UN Accreditation States and the United Nations system.

The University of the West Indies Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow Ambassador Corps, has been accepted in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ Civil Society database and as a result is accredited with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). As a regional corps, UWI STAT will have access to CSO Net — the Civil Society Network, where UWI STAT can take part and register for conferences and meetings related to economic and social development, share projects, add news stories, events, and more.

It is responsible for: promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress; identifying solutions to international economic, social and health problems; facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation; and encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

About United Nations Economic and Social Council It was established under the United Nations Charter as the principal organ to coordinate economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialised agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. The Council also receives reports from 11 UN funds and programmes. The Economic and Social Council serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member

It has the power to make or initiate studies and reports on these issues. It also has the power to assist the preparations and organisation of major international conferences in the economic and social and related fields and to facilitate a coordinated follow-up to these conferences. With its broad mandate the Council’s purview extends to over 70 per cent of the human and financial resources of the entire UN system.

UWI STAT Regional Meeting The four presidents of the UWI STAT Corps met at Mona in August 2011 and developed regional programmes and strategies for action in the upcoming year.

L-R: Timar Jackson (Mona Corps), Monique Long (Cave Hill Corps), Prunella Mungroo (St. Augustine Corps) and Peter Dunn (Open Campus Corps).

UWI STAT Ambassadors (Mona) attended the Caribbean Diaspora Conference in Ocho Rios and participated in the Youth Sessions. They will be working with the Diaspora Future Leaders.

) Timar

T team (L-R roe (L) meeting the UWI STA UWI Professor Dr. Trevor Mon i-Ann Mew. Kerr and e arlan McF l Pau Jackson,

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L-R: Kerri-Ann Mew, Vice President, CARIC OM Relations (UWI STA Excellency Anthony Joh T), His nson, Jamaica’s Ambas sador to the United Kin Celia Grandison-Marke gdom, y, UK Diaspora and Tim ar Jackson, President, STAT (Mona Corps).

UWI

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UWI STAT Participation in CSME Increased youth involvement in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) was the focus of a two-day conference in Antigua from June 16-18, 2011. It marked the conclusion of the project, ‘Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion’, which began in 2008 and mobilised 283 tertiary students to experience the CSME in a practical way. Under the initiative, students from member states participating in the single market and economy travelled to another CARICOM state to study the CSME in action, receive training and identify responses to CSME opportunities. UWI STAT has been participating since the inception and two Ambassadors were asked to participate in this final key component. The conference in Antigua thus brought together representatives from the student groups who participated in the project, for working sessions with technical staff of the CARICOM Secretariat, National CSME Focal Points, and other public and private stakeholders. The findings and recommendations from the Project’s 12 Country Mission Reports were discussed and a Guide Book was developed that will serve as a tool to further promote youth involvement in the CSME. The two-day Conference was organised by the CARICOM Secretariat with funding by the 9th European Development Fund (EDF), Caribbean Integration Support Programme (CISP).

The Heads of Government further expressed their commitment: “to initiatives to create a mass movement of young people in support of regional integration and to shape a sense of common identity and destiny through mechanisms and strategies such as ICT, youth-led advocacy and peer sensitisation networks,

youth exchanges, sports and culture”.

Speaking in Antigua and Barbuda at a conference to mark the end of a two-year project designed to familiarise students with opportunities which reside in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Secretary General of CARICOM, said that the Region’s flagship programme could not be successful without the “full participation” of youth, particularly given that research had shown that young people under 30 represented 63% of the Region’s population.

Ambassador LaRocque noted that the project was necessary in light of the fact the CSME was “widely unknown, misunderstood and under appreciated among youth, according to research done by the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCYD). In this context, he said that the CARICOM Secretariat was “committed to undertaking a series of initiatives aimed at empowering and positioning young people to take advantage of and contribute to regional integration and the CSME.” Contrary to perceptions that the CMSE was put on hold, the Ambassador said, “CSME is alive and functioning although its implementation has not been at a pace some would have hoped to see.” He told the participants that the work done over the past two years was pertinent in consolidating gains achieved so far. A significant outcome of the project will be a publication detailing the experiences of the students during the field study of the CSME.

Advisors, Student Delegates and UWI STAT Ambassadors forge friendships and professional alliances.

Representation at Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting Rashad Brathwaite represented UWI STAT at the first Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting of the UNDP project “Youth Innovation (Youth-In): A Caribbean Network for Youth Development which strategically addresses human development through linked environmental, economic and social inputs to optimise youth potential in the context of mitigating Caribbean Small Island Developing States’ vulnerabilities. This was held in Barbados

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UWI STAT in Washington DC Current and Alumni UWI STAT Ambassadors keep in touch wherever they are in the world.

Here (L-R) J'elle, Rachel and Melissa enjoy dinner together in DC, June 2011.

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CARICOM Youth Forum

The participants for the day actively engaged by the keynote speaker Dr. the Hon. Kenneth Baugh.

On Saturday, July 9, 2011, UWI STAT in partnership with the National Youth Council of Jamaica (NYCJ) and the National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD) hosted a youth forum at the UWI Mona Faculty of Law building to commemorate CARICOM’s 38th Anniversary. The forum included a keynote address by Dr. the Hon. Kenneth Baugh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and an address by Vice Chancellor of the UWI Professor E. Nigel Harris. The day’s activities were geared at enabling youth who are actively involved in their communities to learn about the CSME and CARICOM’s role and function in the region.

The collaboration with the NYCJ and NCYD resulted in a great session. Many UWI STAT Ambassadors came out to support. The "Welcome" Kerri-Ann Mew gave was excellent and Timar Jackson, UWI STAT President (Mona), introduced the Deputy Prime Minister. Dr. Baugh's message was thought-provoking and laid the background for the discussions. The room was full! UWI STAT was pleased to be a part of an initiative to encourage Caribbean integration.

Participants in the forum enjoying a cultural performance.

UWI STAT Ambassadors and Ambassadors Designate present at the forum.

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UWIAA NEWS UWI Alumni Association (UWIAA) Washington DC

Professor Franklin Knight, Past President of UWIAA Washington DC and a current member of UWIAA DC’s board gave the opening keynote lecture at the tenth congress of the Association of Historians of Latin America and the Caribbean (ADHILAC) in the Dominican Republic, on June 14, 2011, and was given the prestigious ADHILAC honorary award at this event. The association has elevated six scholars, including Gonzalo Aguirre Beltran of Mexico, to the rank of Honorary Member.

Professor Knight is the Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Professor of History, Latin American and Caribbean social and economic history at Johns Hopkins University. He is a graduate of the University College of the West Indies - London [B.A. (Hons.) 1964]. He gained the M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1969) degrees from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

He has served on committees of the Social Science Research Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Inter-American Foundation, the National Research Council, the American Historical Association, the Conference of Latin American History, The Latin American Studies Association, The American Council of Learned Societies, The Historical Society, and the Association of Caribbean Historians. He has lectured across the Americas as well as Australia, Japan and Europe. In 2001 he was elected a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Letters of Bahia, Brazil.

ADHILAC is the Spanish acronym for the Association of Historians of Latin America and the Caribbean. It was formed in Mexico in 1974 and holds a variety of themed congresses, workshops and meetings across Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. It has several hundred members and an international directorate.

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Professor Franklin Knight

Alumni in the News UWIAA Washington DC Alumni networks at work!

Members of the UWIAA Washington DC Chapter secured donations of US$50,000.00 for scholarships to the School of Nursing at Mona.

Sha-Shana Crichton, the UWIAA Washington DC President noted the donor wishes to remain anonymous. According to Ms. Crichton, “Nursing students were specifically selected because we hope that the financial support given to these students to achieve their goal of becoming nurses will create a domino effect and they in turn will enhance many lives.”

Pelican Pride Alumni Reunion The UWIAA Jamaica Chapter gave full support to the Mona Alumni Through the Decades Reunion. This was put on by the Office of the Principal and the UWI STAT Mona Corps also assisted in making sure that this week was a success. The principal planning officer, Mr. Richard Bailey, noted with satisfaction that over 3,000 alumni “came home” to Mona during the period. The week of activities was dubbed ‘Through the Decades Alumni Reunion 2011’ and were a part of the celebration of the 63rd anniversary of The University of the West Indies. The week began on August 10, with an opening ceremony and cocktail reception at the Olde Still House Ruins, with entertainment by some exceptional student talents, supported by the University Singers, and a special performance by Joan Andrea Hutchinson.

Alumni Relations (IAD) expresses sincere and grateful thanks to the donor and the Washington DC Chapter.

Show your Pelican Pride and join the UWIAA Chapter nearest you today!

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Shirley giving special recognition to UWI’s first graduate Roy Bailey.

Roy Bailey, the first person granted a degree from what was then the University College of the West Indies was honoured and the UWIAA Jamaica Chapter presented Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughn with their 2011 Pelican Award. On August 11th there was a campus expo and tours of new facilities, followed by a ‘Blast From the Past’ cultural entertainment package at the Students Union. Friday saw over 700 graduates attending a grand reunion dinner and show with the theme “Under the Stars”. It was quite an affair, with performances from Tanya Stephens, Freddie McGregor, Ernie Smith and LUST and amusing “remembrances” from graduates of halls of residence. Taylor Hall also hosted its well known final fete.

Respected Canadian organist Olukola Owolabi gave a special performance

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Reigns Supreme on Sunday, August 14th at the UWI Chapel culminating the series of reunion celebrations. An appreciative audience was entertained by the celebrated composer utilising the chapel’s newly refurbished organ. The organ, which was installed at the chapel in 1966, was originally made by British company J W Walker and Sons Limited. It fell into disrepair a few years ago, and was recently refurbished by German company, Klais. The Toronto-born Owolabi is the son of a Nigerian father and Trinidadian mother. He holds degrees from McGill and Yale Universities as well as the Eastman School of Music where he earned a Ph.D. in organ performance. He is currently organist and Assistant Professor of Music at Syracuse University in New York.

Mona Pelicans Paula-Ann Porte r Jones and Richard Bailey.

Mr. A. Gilbert Bellamy, UWIAA President Jamaica Chapter presents the prestigious Pelican Award to Professor Maureen Samms Vaughn for her work in the field of Child Health and Child Development.

UWI graduate Senator Marlene Mallaloo Forte smiles for the camera.

Gordon Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor labi.

Shirley and organist Olukola Owo

The limbo en

tertainer was

, Celia L-R: Director, Alumni Relations Davidson Francis; President and Jamaica, Country Head, RBC Royal Bank and uate grad UWI and l Israe a Minn amy.

Attorney-at-Law, Kalean Mills-Bell

"Pelican Pride and great camaraderie.”

Gilbert Bellamy (centre) with Mary

Conversations with the Principal. ange.

Alumni listen keenly to the exch

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well received.

Men’s volleyball was

21

exciting.

Seacole’s Caribvibe Dance Troup.

de it ssmates was what ma special.

Reconnecting with cla

Alumni Reunion (Mona) Triple P 2011 Triple P 2011 was also part of the Mona Reunion Week and the UWI STAT Mona Corps helped to organise and assist this fun-filled day. Former West Indies Cricket Team Captain and UWI graduate Dr. the Hon. Courtney Walsh led a strong Cuddyz XI against the UWI (Mona) Principal’s XI captained by Professor Gordon Shirley in a Twenty20 encounter on Saturday, August 13, 2011 at the UWI Mona Bowl. Walsh’s team triumphed but the Principal’s team says they will get their revenge next year. The ‘Triple P’ sports day was part of wider alumni activities which saw UWI graduates (Pelicans) taking part in various sporting disciplines, including football, basketball, and volleyball with teams featuring pre-2000 graduates going up against post-2000 graduates. The cricket match, featured players such as West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels, Simon Jackson and Neurologist Dr. Carl Bruce, turning out for the Cuddyz XI. Professor Gordon Shirley had in his ranks West Indies wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton, who also represented the Combined Colleges and Campuses team in the WICB regional four-day tournament. Other members of the UWI administrative staff, well-known Jamaican personalities and celebrities, as well as alumni and present students turned out for the match.

Cuddyz XI

PVC Shirley’s XI

UWI STAT Founding Member Floyd Green (right) gave excellent commentary along with other team members, full of hilarious wise cracks. Here he gives Professor Shirley “mic time”.

UWI graduate Dr. the Hon. Courtney Walsh (left) and PVC and Principal, Professor Gordon Shirley engage in friendly banter before the match.

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UWI Grads

On the Move

Two senior academics in the Faculty of Law at The University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus) have been selected as Commissioners on the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine and Ms. Tracy Robinson were elected as members of IACHR at the 41st Regular Session of the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly, held in San Salvador from June 5-7, 2011. Both will serve a four-year term commencing January 1, 2012. Trinidadian Antoine and Jamaica-born Robinson make history as the first Caribbean women to have ever been elected to the Washington-based human rights body which serves the US, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. It is also the first time that two CARICOM nationals have been elected to the Commission at the same time.

She is a co-founder of the Faculty of Law’s UWI Rights Advocacy Project (U-RAP) whose objective it is to promote human rights and social justice in the Caribbean by undertaking and participating in human rights litigation in collaboration with human rights lawyers and human rights organisations. Her expertise on gender-based violence, sex work and the law, sexual harassment, sexual and reproductive rights, same-sex sexuality and the law, child rights and human rights law in general is utilised by intergovernmental organisations, Caribbean governments, civil society organisations and increasingly in judicial training.

Dr. Leo-Rey Gordon, UWI alumnus, graduated from UWI (Mona) with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He has now received his Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Delaware. He graduated from the UWI in 2003 and did his Masters and Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Delaware, Lerner College of Business and Economics. At present he is Assistant Professor, College of Business at Wilmington University. His specialties include Economics, Finance and Quantitative Research Methods and he is a member of the National Scholars Honor Society, Magna cum Laude and the World Network of Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs. He is the son of Ms. Joy Dickenson, Manager of the Office of Student Services, UWI (Mona).

Professor Antoine, UWI Professor of Labour Law & Offshore Financial Law at UWI (Cave Hill), is an Oxford Commonwealth Scholar and a Cambridge Pegasus Scholar. She holds a doctorate from Oxford University (Balliol College), an LLM from Cambridge, an LLB from The University of the West Indies and diplomas and certificates with distinction in international human rights from the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Her specialist subject areas are Discrimination Law, Public Law, Labour Law, Offshore Financial Law and Legal Systems. Antoine won the coveted UWI Vice-Chancellor’s Regional Award for Excellence in Research, the only person from the Law Faculty to have done so, the UK Emerald Literati Prize and was honoured by the Commonwealth Foundation as an ‘eminent scholar’. She has been described as the “foremost labour law expert in the region” and the “leading” expert in the region in Offshore Financial Law, Labour Law Rights and the law on HIV.

Professor Newton D. Duncan has been appointed as the Head of the UWI Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the UWI Mona. This department is the largest clinical department in the Faculty of Medical Sciences. His appointment took effect on August 1, 2011. He did undergraduate and postgraduate training in surgery at the UWI, Mona and received specialist training in paediatric surgery at Booth Hall and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, University of Manchester, while on a Commonwealth Scholarship. He has published widely on subjects such as, surgery in sickle cell disease and newborn surgical emergencies, and was a co-investigator in the Jamaica arm of the Merck’s rotavirus study, which culminated in the development of a rotavirus vaccine. Rotaviruses are the leading cause of infantile gastroenteritis and account for more than 500,000 deaths per year in developing countries.

His research led to his receiving the American College of Surgeons International Guest Scholar Award, 1996. He initiated specialist training in paediatric surgery at the UWI, Mona in 1998, and was elevated to the Chair in Paediatric

Fellow Commissioner Ms. Tracy Robinson is one of the principal teachers of Caribbean Public Law at the UWI Cave Hill Campus, directing the undergraduate course Constitutional Law, co-directing Commonwealth Caribbean Human Rights Law and lecturing in Gender, Family Law and Constitutional Law. She graduated from The University of the West Indies in 1991 with a First Class Honours Degree in Law. In 1996, this Rhodes Scholar joined The UWI Faculty of Law as a lecturer, having completed postgraduate degrees at the University of Oxford and Yale Law School.

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UWI Grads

On the Move

Surgery in 2007. He was appointed Deputy Dean (clinical) in 2008, and chairs the faculty’s Hospital Accreditation Committee. Professor Duncan is a member of the MBBS Curriculum Management Team, Student Tracking Committee and the Faculty of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee. The annual William Dennis Memorial Lecture, which showcases local and international academics, was initiated by him and had its 10th anniversary this year.

on the Board of Directors of the GSB Co-operative Credit Union as the Vice President.

Dr. Robert Parris, a board-certified Invasive Cardiologist, studied medicine at The University of the West Indies – Faculty of Medical Sciences in Jamaica, and received his fellowship training in cardiovascular diseases from a Columbia University affiliate at the Harlem Hospital in New York. He has recently joined the Sparks Health System in the Fort Smith Region, USA. (July 2th – The City Wire)

The new Chief Justice of Belize is UWI graduate Mr. Kenneth Benjamin, who will take up his appointment on September 15, 2011.

Benjamin has worked as a Chief Magistrate in Antigua and Barbuda and he is a former High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. More recently, he was employed as a Judge in St. Lucia, a post he will leave to take up his new position in Belize. Benjamin graduated from Hugh Wooding Law School in 1977 and practiced law in Guyana before moving to Antigua in 1991.

Dr. Tasha Cooke is a Consultant Urologist at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She also has a private practice at the Montego Bay Hospital and Urology Centre. Dr. Cooke was born in Jamaica, and received her medical degree, as well as specialised training in urology at The University of the West Indies and the University of Miami. She did a fellowship in Urologic Reconstruction, Female Urology and Incontinence at the University of Miami. She took part in the Antigua Lions Club’s 4th Annual Free Prostate Screening Clinic over the summer, showing her service/volunteerism orientation.

Mr. O’Neil Grant, (EMBA Student, Cohort 21) Mona School of Business has been elected as President of the Jamaica Civil Service Association. Mr. Grant also serves

BOOK

CORNER

For UWI Grads On The Move contact: celia.davidson-francis@alumni.uwi.edu

Lamming in Caribbean Reasonings

The latest publication by George Lamming, one of the best known authors, essayists and social commentators of the Caribbean is a collection of his thoughts, released by Ian Randle Publishers (IRP). Edited by Anthony Bogues, a well-known Jamaica-born West Indian intellectual and thinker, The George Lamming Reader has been released by IRP as a new series on ‘Caribbean Reasonings’.

The Lamming Reader is focused on the aesthetics of decolonisation while other titles in the series include MG Smith’s Social Theory and Anthropology in the Caribbean and Beyond (edited by Professor Brian Meeks). The other series editor is the historian and writer, Professor Rupert Lewis. It was launched at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination and this coincided with the Inaugural George Lamming Distinguished Lecture delivered by Professor Bogues on the theme, ‘The radical imagination and the Caribbean intellectual tradition — from the Haitian revolution to the sovereignty of the imagination’.

It is dedicated to the memory of the late distinguished Caribbean citizen and UWI Vice Chancellor Emeritus Rex Nettleford (a friend of Lamming). This publication on his works examines the history of the Caribbean and the categories which continue to shape and influence Caribbean identity in our contemporary world.

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The American Foundation for The University of the West Indies in action!

Picture of Group who handled promotions at the recently held Beres Hammond Concert put on in association with the AFUWI. They received the promised scholarship amount of US$3000 from the promoters Jammins Entertainment for a scholarship for a UWI student for 2011/2012.

The AFUWI Team made up of volunteers: S. Khan, B. Ramos (back), G. Ramos, Executive Assistant, AFUWI, D. Thomas (back), Ann-Marie Grant, Executive Director, AFUWI, A. Taylor, UWI graduate.

Lecture on "The Caribbean in a Changing Global Environment" Sir Hilary Beckles excites packed audience There was a capacity audience of about 500 persons at the London School of Economics on July 3, 2011 who all came out to hear Sir Hilary Beckles’ lecture on "The Caribbean in a Changing Global Environment". Thanks to the suggestion of Karen Carter, BFUWI Coordinator and the assistance of the Deputy Barbados High Commissioner, BFUWI Volunteers Karen Carter and Anya Medina were able to set up a BFUWI booth outside the lecture hall, to help raise awareness about this relatively new UWI Foundation. Sir Hilary mentioned the BFUWI at the end of his question and answer session and invited the audience to go to the booth and get information about the BFUWI and in less than 30 minutes all the brochures and informational materials were gone.

Mrs. Susan Belgrave, who is a Trustee of the BFUWI was able to talk to fellow Barbadian Sir Hilary. She said, “I was pleased to note the number of queries about studying and working at UWI as well as partnerships with organisations in the UK at the booth. The event also enabled the BFUWI database to be expanded. Sir Hilary was enthusiastically invited to return at the earliest possible time as the content and delivery of his lecture was as usual, world class.” The BFUWI congratulates the High Commissioners for CARICOM Member States on this wonderful initiative.

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The University Bookshop The University of the West Indies Cave Hill, St. Michael, Barbados Tel. (246) 417-4517 Fax (246) 417-4520

For the widest selection of: Academic Books Caribbeana UWI Memorabilia Computer Accessories Cave Hill Pelicans ... when in Barbados support your UWI Bookshop!

Apply Now

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HAPPENINGS CAVE HILL Professorial Appointment May 18, 2011: Professor Ochieng’-Odhaimbo is now a Professor in Philosophy and Head of the Department of History and Philosophy at the UWI Cave Hill Campus. A native of Kenya, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Professor Ochieng’-Odhiambo’s research interest is African Philosophy with a focus on Philosophic Sagacity a concept introduced into international philosophical circles in the 1970s. He is one of the best known researchers and leading exponents of this approach.

Philosophy Symposium The seventh Cave Hill Philosophy Symposium (CHiPS) will have as a general them social and political philosophy. CHiPS VII will be held in the third week of November 2011 to coincide with UNESCO World Philosophy Day (November 17, 2011) from November 16th - 18th. It aims to bring together thinkers operating in and across different cultural and philosophical traditions as well as other disciplines that share a boundary with philosophy. Papers are expected to cover issues such as equality, justice, and liberty through political ideologies such as anarchism, Confucianism, conservatism, Marxism, and socialism and issues related to the distinctive problems of studying human society.

Papers on themes such as the nature of political authority, individual rights and responsibilities within society; racism, ethnicity, and gender discrimination; war and terrorism; crime and punishment; development and social progress; social agency, the relevance of Darwinian theory in the social sciences, etc. are also encouraged. The keynote speaker will be Professor Charles W. Mills who is the John Evans

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Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, Northwestern University, USA. He authored the seminal The Racial Contract and three collections of papers. He will deliver a public lecture, entitled “Racial Justice”. Contact persons for this symposium are Dr. Frederick Ochieng’-Odhiambo: frederick.ochieng-odhiambo @cavehill.uwi.edu and Prof. Ed Brandon: edbrandon@gmail.com

MONA

IASL Conference The 40th annual conference of the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) was held from August 7 to 11, 2011, under the theme: ‘School Libraries: Empowering the 21st Century Learner’.

ON THE CAMPUS YOU ATTENDED International Reggae Day June 30, 2011: International Reggae Day 2011 is officially celebrated on Friday, July 1, however UWI (Mona) started early with a symposium entitled ‘Saluting Reggae Vanguards’, which highlighted the musical legacies of the undisputed reggae vanguards - Burning Spear, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Sugar Minott and Bob Marley.

Presenters were Dr. Michael Barnett, Professor Carolyn Cooper, Ibo Cooper, Mutabaruka and Evah Gordon.

my.uwi.edu Mona students are being encouraged to switch to my.uwi.edu and say goodbye to the Campus Pipeline. They will have a single sign-on password, which will give them access to online services and resources like email, VLE and financial information.

OPEN

Edward Baugh Distinguished Lecture One of the leading scholars in the area of post-colonial theory and literary studies, Professor Helen Tiffin delivered the Fourth Edward Baugh Distinguished Lecture on Sunday, June 5, 2011 at Mona. She spoke on the topic ‘Small Islands, Strong Currents: The Significance of West Indian Literature’.

The Edward Baugh Distinguished Lecture is an annual event organised by the Department of Literatures in English, UWI, in honour of poet Edward Baugh who is Professor Emeritus of English at UWI, Mona. This year the lecture was staged in association with the West Indian Association for Commonwealth Language and Literature Studies. Professor Edward Baugh has an international reputation as an authority on Anglophone Caribbean poetry in general and on the work of Derek Walcott in particular.

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Professorial Appointment May 18, 2011: Professor John Bewaji is now a Professor in Philosophy in the Department of Language, Linguistics and Philosophy at the UWI Mona Campus and also serves as Coordinator of the Philosophy section. Professor Bewaji has a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Ibadan and a Master of Arts from the University of Ife. His research interests include the Philosophical Analysis of Leadership in African and African Diaspora and its relation to Society and Development as well as the Economics of Religion.

Open Campus Course The UWI Open Campus Belize, has started a certificate course in Educational Planning and Sport (Principles and Practices of Coaching).

The 8-week course is the first of its kind to be offered in Belize.

HAPPENINGS “Change Agents” June 2011: Newly inducted graduates of the UWI School of Clinical Medicine and Research (Bahamas Campus) were addressed by The Bahamas, Minister of Health Dr. the Hon. Hubert A. Minnis.

He said he saw the new physicians as “change agents” who can transform healthcare, to make it more accessible and affordable for all patients within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”

Twenty doctors graduated from the programme bringing the total number of graduates to 200 since the establishment of The Bahamas Campus 14 years ago.

The Health Minister applauded the Programme Director Dr. Robin Roberts for what Dr. Minnis called his “dedication to medical academia” and for his contribution to medical education within The Bahamas and the region. The collaboration between the Government of The Bahamas and The University of the West Indies has also allowed for more Bahamians to graduate as medical practitioners from the programme. Clinical training was made a reality in The Bahamas for UWI-educated physicians based upon that partnership between the Government of The Bahamas and The University of the West Indies. The establishment of the UWI School of Clinical Medicine and Research was a great milestone in Bahamian history as it had great economic impact on

students who would have otherwise had to travel abroad to complete their studies.

New Open Campus Registrar Mrs. Karen Ford-Warner, who recently served as Open Campus Alumni Relations Consultant, brings to this new post a rich and broad range of expertise and experience both nationally and regionally in the fields of education, law, public sector management and tourism. She holds graduate degrees from Columbia University Teachers’ College (MA in International Educational Development), and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (Masters in Public Administration) as well as an LLB degree from The University of the West Indies and a Certificate of Legal Education from the Norman Manley Law School.

She worked in the Tourism Sector serving in various high-level positions.

A Certified Mediator, she is also an Attorney-at-Law. Mrs. Ford-Warner sits on various boards, including the Earl Warner Trust, a foundation dedicated to the memory of her late husband, Barbadian writer and theatre director, Earl Warner. She will continue to advocate for alumni engagement in her new position.

UWI Pelicans...

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ON THE CAMPUS YOU ATTENDED ST. AUGUSTINE IIR Seminar The UWI Institute of International Relations (IIR) put on a seminar, ‘The Future of Caribbean Regional Integration’ on Thursday June 30, 2011. It highlighted key findings from the recent Caribbean Regional Integration study conducted by IIR staff, which analysed the Caribbean regional integration process, to help identify options for moving it forward by helping to inform future strategic engagement by different stakeholders, with a view to facilitating and assisting in the development of the regional integration agenda.

Road Safety The Department of Chemistry hosted a seminar on “Road Traffic Crashes in Trinidad and Tobago,” on Thursday June 16, 2011 organised by the Department’s Occupational Environmental Safety and Health (OESH) programme. Road safety continues to be a major public health and social issue in Trinidad and Tobago.

Publication and Film Launch The Office of the Campus Principal at UWI, St. Augustine held a publication and film launch on June 28, 2011, as a part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the St. Augustine Campus. The publication, “Decades of Research: UWI St. Augustine at 50” was launched. The screening of the film, “An Oasis of Ideas, Leadership and Learning UWI St. Augustine at 50,” followed. This film was directed by Professor Patricia Mohammed, UWI Professor of Gender and Cultural Studies and Francesca Hawkins, television and radio broadcaster.

HAPPENINGS Conference on Sustainable Development The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), at UWI St. Augustine hosted a conference titled, “Sustainable Development of Coastal Communities, Challenges and Solutions,” from June 1-3, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad in Port of Spain.

It was a forum for the exchange of ideas on critical issues related to climate change and coastal communities, biodiversity, turtle conservation, ecotourism, sustainable community development and the environment.

CTLPA Conference The 14th Annual Conference of the Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association (CTLPA), was held from June 30th to July 2nd, 2011, at the Learning Resource Centre, UWI St. Augustine. The CTLPA is a professional organisation that seeks primarily to foster the timely development of a student-centred culture in tertiary level educational institutions across the Caribbean. Under the theme “CTLPA: Bringing More to Student Learning and

ON THE CAMPUS YOU ATTENDED

Professional Development in Higher Education,” this conference fostered student learning and development, examined related theories and showcased best practices.

Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility and Reporting and the Nature and Purpose of Business. His appointment became effective May 18, 2011

Professorial Appointment

SALISES Forum

Effective May 18, 2011, Gary Garcia was promoted to Professor in Animal Science at the UWI St. Augustine Campus. Professor Garcia obtained both his BSc and PhD degrees at UWI and now lectures in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, teaching courses in Lifestyle Products Technology and Tropical Animal Science. Professor Garcia’s main areas of research include Production of Cattle and Wildlife Management.

The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) hosted a forum on the topic, “The Current State of West Indies Cricket” on Friday June 3, 2011. Panellists at the forum were: Mr. Deryck Murray Former West Indies cricketer and Vice-Captain; former President of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket and West Indies Cricket Boards, Mr. Tony Gray Cricket Coach at the University of Trinidad and Tobago and former West Indies cricketer, Professor Baldwin Mootoo - Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, UWI; First Vice President of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and member of the West Indies Cricket Board and Mr. Dinanath Ramnarine - Former West Indies cricketer and President of the West Indies Players’ Association. The session was chaired by Mr. Fazeer Mohammed, television host and sports journalist.

Professorial Appointment Surendra Arjoon is now Professor of Business Ethics and Quantitative Analysis. He is a member of the Department of Management Studies at UWI St. Augustine. Professor Arjoon’s research interest lies in areas of the application of natural law ethics to education, business and the economy with a specific focus on Corporate

The Centre for Language Learning showcases foreign culture The Centre for Language Learning (CLL) at UWI (St. Augustine), hosted its second triennial Open House. It was attended by secondary school students, members of the public and UWI staff and students.

The two-day event consisted of an opening ceremony which screened a re-edit of the Languages and Leaders documentary produced for the Open House, entitled Chirren go to School and Learn Well, as well as a Japanese skit performed by students of Japanese language at the CLL. There was also a panel discussion themed – Higher Education in a Globalising World.

The first day of the Open House was especially student-friendly. There were team games with French and Spanish rules which allowed students to receive prizes of foreign language movies and a foreign language dictionary. Other highlights included breakfast rituals from Chinese, Portuguese, French and Arabic-speaking cultures, meringue, salsa, samba and forró dancing classes, martial arts displays from Brazil, Japan and China, movies, mini classes as well as vocal performances representative of the spectrum of CLL languages.

The second day had an even bigger crowd. The day began with performances by Spanish students from the Liberal Arts Department at UWI as well as performances from the teachers and students from the Mahatma Ghandi Institute for Cultural Cooperation. Finally, attendees of the CLL Open House were exposed to cooking recipes, technology demonstrations and art and cultural displays from around the world.

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Fulbright Scholarship Recipients

Hanan Ghannoum (centre), Deputy Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, with the 2011/2012 batch of Fulbright grantees (from left) Dr. Kevin Harvey, Gillian Jackson, Claudine Anderson, Dr. Loraine Cook, Haeni Young, Pauline Milwood, Gaunette Sinclair-Maragh, Tanya Beckford, and Ricardo Sandcroft. Missing from the picture is Dr. Nadine McCloud.

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S.

Health, has been awarded the

Educational Psychology at New York

Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, recently

prestigious Hubert H. Humphrey

University while Dr. McCloud will do her

announced the newest group of

Fellowship to study HIV/AIDS

research in Economics at Cornell

Fulbright and Humphrey Fellowship

Policy and Prevention in the United

University.

grantees, who will pursue various

States. Dr. Harvey will take up his

programs of study in the United States

fellowship at Emory University in

Pauline Milwood, Hospitality

and many have connections to the UWI.

Atlanta Georgia beginning this summer.

Manager at Mona Visitor’s Lodge,

He is well known for his dedication to

The University of the West Indies,

the fight against HIV/AIDS.

will pursue a PhD in Business

The Fulbright Program is the largest and one of the most prestigious

Administration with a focus in

educational exchange programs of the

UWI graduate Ricardo Sandcroft,

Hospitality and Tourism at Temple

U.S. State Department. It includes the

Legal Officer at the Child

University, while UWI graduate

following programs: The Hubert H.

Development Agency in the

Gillian Jackson of the Jamaica

Humphrey Fellowship; the

Ministry of Health has also been

National Building Society will study

Fulbright/LASPAU (Latin American

awarded the Hubert Humphrey

Actuarial Science at the University

Scholarship Program of American

Fellowship; he will pursue studies in

of Nebraska.

Universities) Faculty Development

Law and Human Rights at the

Program; the Fulbright Graduate

University of Minnesota.

Student Program; the Fulbright Visiting

Ms. Hanan Ghannoum, Deputy Public Affairs Officer of the United

Research Scholar Program; and the

Fulbright Research grants have

States Embassy encouraged the

Fulbright NEXUS Scholar Program for

been awarded to Dr. Loraine Cook,

scholars to commit themselves to

the Western Hemisphere.

Lecturer in Educational Psychology

nation-building as their training will

and Dr. Nadine McCloud, who

prepare them to be shapers of policy

Dr. Kevin Harvey, graduate of UWI,

lectures in Economics, both at The

and implementers of a broad array of

Executive Director of the National

University of the West Indies. Dr.

development enhancing ideas and

HIV/STI Program at the Ministry of

Cook will conduct her research in

projects.

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30

TRIBUTES

C

In elebration of their ives

L

Professor Julian Kenny, who was a zoologist by training, taught at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, for three decades. He was the former Head of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), an environmentalist, scientist, senator, writer and gentleman.

He was an inspiring teacher, imbuing his students with his own love of his subject. But teaching, for him, was not simply a matter of transmitting the knowledge he had acquired from books. He also pursued field research in a number of areas, which included enthusiastically diving in pursuit of fish, exploring the habitat of numerous species of bats in the Tamana Caves, and hunting for rare orchids in the Aripo Savannahs. Increasing the pool of scientific information on the local environment was one of his passions; sharing that knowledge was equally important to him. Kenny was a member of the UWI campus community until his retirement in 1990. He began as Zoology Lecturer in the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, and through his ground-breaking work and research, rose to the ranks of Professor and Head of Department. He was an active member of the campus community, sitting on several committees and being supervisor of many M.Phil. and Ph.D. students. Professor Kenny recorded the results of his research and passed them on, in the form of academic papers, in books on local and regional flora and fauna. He served as an Independent Senator in Trinidad and Tobago from 1995-2001 and was a respected and popular newspaper columnist. Kenny was awarded the Chaconia Medal (Gold) for environmental conservation at the 2010 National Awards on Independence Day. He himself set and adhered to the highest principles, which were exemplified in his own conduct in public service. As an independent senator he earned the respect of his colleagues across the political spectrum for the reasonableness of his outspoken but fair and well-informed views. He was an ardent and eloquent advocate for the preservation of the environment. He will be remembered as a scholar and a gentleman, a man of intellect and integrity, a teacher and an exemplar, who contributed to national development in numerous ways until the very end of his 81 year long and well-lived life.

His Excellency Dr. Joseph R. Christmas was former Ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations and Global Chief (Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation) at the UNICEF, United Nations Headquarters in New York. Born on February 7, 1940, Dr. Christmas was a school teacher from 1956 to 1965 as an employee of the Government of St. Kitts-Nevis and Anguilla. He obtained the Certificate of Education (Teacher Training), Erdiston College, Barbados, with endorsement by The University of the West Indies, 1964; a B.Sc. (Special Honours) in Geology with ancillary Chemistry, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica, 1969; an M.Sc. in hydrogeology (groundwater resources development), London University (UCL), U.K.; a Diploma in Sanitary Engineering, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, U.S.A., and a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology, The University of the West Indies, (with the University of Waterloo, Canada).

Dr. Christmas then served as Manager/Water Engineer, Water Department, St. Kitts and Nevis. From 1978 to 1983, he served as Senior Project Officer UNICEF, United Nations, based in Mozambique, Africa. He served as Senior Programme Officer, UNICEF, United Nations Headquarters in New York and was appointed Global Chief, UNICEF at UN Headquarters in New York from January 1989 to 1992. Dr. Christmas managed the sector globally. He served as UNICEF (Resident) Representative from January 1993 to December 1995 and carried out specific assignments in Angola and Kenya. Dr. Christmas took early retirement from UNICEF and the United Nations on January 1, 1996. He served as St. Kitts and Nevis’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 1, 2000 to November 20, 2006. His contribution in the field of Water and Environmental Sanitation at the highest level was invaluable.

Dr. Sandra Morgan was a marketing professional, pastor, mother and wife. She was a graduate in Management Studies of The University of the West Indies, Mona. Dr. Morgan was involved with Christian ministry on the University’s Mona Campus. She worked at Nestle Jamaica as a Product Manager and more recently at Victoria Mutual Building Society as a Customer Service Specialist. She joined her husband Henley as Co-Pastor at Praise City International Church in the inner-city community of Trench Town. Dr. Morgan achieved her first doctoral degree from Trinity University in Florida, USA. She enrolled in the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology through which she was pursuing her second doctorate at Bakke Graduate University in Washington in 2010.

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FEATURE

The University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor’s Presidents Club

Oooooooooooooooo

UWIAA - Presidents Mr. Ricardo Knight - Barbados Mr. Frank Paco Smith - Belize Dr. Marcia Potter - British Virgin Islands Mrs. Leonora Wynter - Cayman Islands Mrs. A. Missouri Sherman-Peter Commonwealth of The Bahamas Mrs. Yvanette Baron-George - Dominica Dr. Rupert Rhodd - Florida Mr. A. Gilbert Bellamy - Jamaica Mrs. Delmaude Ryan - Montserrat Dr. Gerald White-Davis - New York Mrs. Cicely Jacobs (Acting) - St. Kitts & Nevis Ms. Daisy Rose (Acting) - St. Lucia President to be elected - St. Vincent & the Grenadines Mr. Ferdinand Fortune and Mr Michael Henville - Toronto Mr. Mark Regis - Trinidad & Tobago President to be elected - United Kingdom Ms. Sha-Shana Crichton - Washington DC UWIAA - Past Presidents Ms. Maxine McClean - Barbados Prof. Frank Alleyne - Barbados Ms. Cheryl Williams - Barbados Dr. Lisa Johnson - Belize Mr. Frederick Sandiford - Belize Dr. Kedrick Pickering - British Virgin Islands Mrs. Deborah Ann Chambers - Cayman Ms. Irma Edwards - Dominica Mr. Anthony Williams - Florida Mr. Ronald White - Florida Prof. Marcia Magnus - Florida Mrs. Margaret Barrett - Florida Ms. Claudia Halley - Grenada Mrs. Nadine Marriott - Jamaica Mrs. Patricia Sutherland - Jamaica Prof. Neville Ying - Jamaica Mrs. Beverley Pereira - Jamaica Mrs. Brenda Skeffrey - Jamaica Dr. Cameron Wilkinson - St. Kitts & Nevis Mrs. Candia Williams - Montserrat Ms. Laurine Fenton - Montserrat Ms. Sheree Jemmotte - Montserrat Dr. Hazel Carter - New York Dr. Caroline Lawrence - St. Kitts & Nevis Mr. Nkrumah Lucien - St. Lucia Mr. Randy Boucher - St. Vincent & the Grenadines Ms. Maud Fuller - Toronto

Mr. James Richardson - Trinidad & Tobago Mr. Jerry Medford - Trinidad & Tobago Mr. Frederick Bowen - Trinidad & Tobago Mr. Ulric Warner - Trinidad & Tobago Mr. Daniel Sankar - Trinidad & Tobago Prof. Franklin Knight - Washington DC UWIMAA - Presidents Dr. Michael Charles - Barbados Dr. Karl Massiah - Canada Dr. Homer Bloomfield - Commonwealth of The Bahamas Dr. Victor Boodhoo - Florida (Central) Dr. Aileen Standard-Goldson - Jamaica Dr. Deo Singh - Trinidad & Tobago Dr. Gerry Groves - USA Tri-State UWIMAA - Past Presidents Dr. Jeff Massay - Barbados Dr. Michael Hoyos - Barbados Dr. Robin Roberts - Commonwealth of The Bahamas Dr. Cecil Aird - Florida (Central) Dr. Novelle Kirwan - Florida (Central) Dr. Anna Matthews - Jamaica Dr. Peter Fletcher - Jamaica Dr. Sonia Henry-Heywood - Jamaica Dr. Richard Whitelocke - Jamaica Dr. Nadia Williams - Jamaica Dr. Wendel Guthrie - Jamaica Dr. R. E. David Thwaites - Jamaica Dr. Vijay Naraynsingh - Trinidad & Tobago Dr. Godfrey Rajkuma - Trinidad & Tobago Dr. Winston Mitchell - USA Tri-State Dr. Hardat Sukhdeo - USA Tri-State Dr. Kathleen Watson - USA Tri-State UWIGNA (Canada) - President Ms. Millicent Robb UWIGNA (Canada) - Past President Ms. Sybil Bent UWIEA - Regional Contact Eng. Dr. David Smith UWIEA - Former Representatives Eng. Hopeton Heron - Jamaica Eng. Clyde Phillip - Trinidad & Tobago

Alumnus and Council Representatives For Aug 1, 2011 - July 31, 2013

For Aug 1, 2011 - July 31, 2012

Alumnus Representative Mr. A. Gilbert Bellamy (Jamaica)

Council Representative Mr. Frank Paco Smith Jr. (Belize)

Barbados Belize British Virgin Islands Cayman Commonwealth of The Bahamas Dominica Florida Guyana Jamaica Montserrat New York St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and The Grenadines Toronto Trinidad and Tobago United Kingdom Washington D.C.

UWIAA Alumni Contacts Antigua & Barbuda Grenada Guangdong Ottawa Suriname Turks & Caicos Islands

Campus Alumni Offices Cave Hill Campus Tel: 246-417-4544 alumnioffice@cavehill.uwi.edu Contact: Mrs. Roseanne Maxwell Mona Campus Tel: 876-927-1583 uwialumni@yahoo.com Contact: Mrs. Charmaine Wright Open Campus Tel: 876-927-2478 Ext. 2482 alumni@open.uwi.edu Contact: Open Campus Registrar St. Augustine Campus Tel: 868-663-1579, 868-662-2002, Ext: 2099 Charmain.Subero@sta.uwi.edu Contact: Ms. Charmain Subero

Coordinating Office Institutional Advancement Division iad@alumni.uwi.edu