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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER, 2017
THE INSTALLATION OF THE CHANCELLOR
My fellow West Indians
I would like to start by
acknowledging a great West Indian who is with us today,
our former Chancellor, Sir George Alleyne, someone who
has dedicated his life to the service of his country, this
region and particularly this University. I am the beneficiary
of his distinguished legacy.
I have followed three basic rules for all of my career:
stay focused on your core competence, keep your head
down and keep your mouth shut. This evening I am
jettisoning these rules forever.
I started life as a baker and to this day still see
myself as such. Standing here before you as Chancellor
of The University of the West Indies, makes me marvel
yet again at the vagaries of life. I am deeply conscious of
the responsibility of this office and I wish to thank the
University Council for bestowing this extraordinary honour
upon me.
In trusting its leadership to someone outside of
academia, the University has made a clear statement that, as
it enters its 70th year, it is recalibrating itself to the demands
of the future. Its newly adopted strategic plan stands on
three pillars: access, alignment, and agility. I fully endorse
the plan and the framework that has been put in place to
ensure its timely implementation.
As the University approaches this milestone, most
of our contributing countries have already, or are about
to celebrate their 50th year of independence or self-
government. For those of us who remember the glorious
evenings when the Union Jackwas lowered and our national
flags were run up, it was a time of great excitement and
expectation. Also a time of much change and uncertainty:
Would independence work? Could we govern ourselves?
There was a view that this experiment would end in failure.
The colonial powers had their doubts, based on the number
of restrictions and checks placed in our constitutions.
As was to be expected, in the last 50 years we have
faced many challenges and weathered many storms; some
of them of our own making, some outside of our control.
However, today we can celebrate a successful outcome; we
have grown into functioning noisy democracies, with fair
and free elections, and an unfettered right to free speech.
All in all, we are a free people with a system of governance,
though not perfect, the envy of many.
The UWI played a pivotal role in building the
institutional fabric of our democracies. It has trained our
leaders in every field, the lawyers, the physicians, the public
servants, the clerics, the teachers, the nurses, the engineers
and, dare I forget, the politicians and heads of state. The
UWI was instrumental in providing the critical ingredient
tens of thousands of West Indians who have achieved
remarkable success in every field, many of them alumni
of this University.
Anniversaries are times of celebration, but they must
also be used for reflection and for rededication. The world
around us is changing at an astonishing pace and every
indication is that change will accelerate exponentially in
the years ahead. Every aspect of our lives will be touched
by this and many of these changes will be disruptive to the
existing order.
I have been told that the University must embrace
change, and this is true. However the whole truth is that we
must all embrace change. This maelstrom will engulf us all
and how we deal with it will define our future.
These changes will impact on the social order as
citizens become more connected, both to each other and
the outside world. Gone are the days where we stood on the
seashore and wondered what the world beyond was like.
Today we know. We can see for ourselves without leaving
our homes.This presents amajor challenge. It creates a level
of expectation among the youth that MUST be satisfied.
Our economies will be challenged by the coming
changes. If my predecessor had proffered in his address that
by the time he left office there would be electric self-driving
cars, it would have beenmet with a polite smile. If I suggest
now, that by the end of my term artificial intelligence will
have rendered obsolete many of the professions that have
existed since the time of the Romans, that too would be
dismissed.
We have two clear choices as I see it: We either join this
new revolution, realign all of our institutions and processes
to accept a state of constant change, use technology to
bridge the divide that separates us from this world, and
force ourselves into this new club whether it welcomes us or
not. Our greatest challenge will be ourselves; to change our
mindset, to dream big, to act big, to never conceive failure
and most important – to allow the young among us to lead
the way. I will not describe the other choice, as it is not
worth considering. It involves failure, disorder and poverty.
Initially, technology companies provided tools to
improve productivity in the traditional economy. As
processing power increased and the Internet became all-
pervasive, technology companies themselves began to
provide services directly to the consumer. Today, technology
companies driven by big data are disrupting traditional
industries and profoundly changing interpersonal
communication, the retail industry, the hospitality industry,
the transport industry, and so it goes.
This is just the beginning of the change. Technology
CHIEF SERVANT
of The UWI
I N A U G U R A L A D D R E S S
This is the speech given by
Chancellor Robert Bermudez
at his installation ceremony,
which was held on September 16, 2017 at the Daaga Auditorium, UWI St. Augustine.
to our success: educated, self-assured young people, ready
and willing to serve, committed to our cause. If that was
the goal in 1948 for establishing the UCWI, then the UWI
has been a resounding success.
By any measure, we have made a success of ourselves.
We have improved our standard of living, we have improved
our healthcare, we have improved access to education, we
have improved our infrastructure. We have been successful.
We may be materially poor when compared to our large,
rich neighbours, but we are not backward! We are rich in
talent!
In our exuberance and self-confidence we often forget
that we are only five million souls. Yet we have made our
mark; in sport, in music, in the arts; in academia we punch
well above our weight. Marley, Rihanna, Bolt… these are
global icons, known and loved bymillions. Less well known
but equally astounding are our Nobel Laureates.
I mention these larger than life figures only to illustrate
those who have achieved global prominence. There are
