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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 11 JUNE, 2017
INTERVIEW
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS CAMPUS
PRINCIPAL BEGANWITHIN A REGIONALLY
DEPRESSED ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT.
IT MEANT FINANCIAL CUTS ACROSS THE
BOARD, WHICH HAS AFFECTED STAFF
AND PROJECTS. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN
MANAGING THIS PROCESS?
On a campus level, I have supported the
initiatives proposed by the Bursar and arrived
at after consultation with campus senior
management, mostly the Deans. We did not
want to cut staff, but at the same time were
mindful of the fact that we also could not
cut too deep into our operational budgets.
I think we barely managed to do that while
maintaining a satisfactory level of operation.
The major actions included the reduction
of part-time contracts to nine months; the
freezing of unfilled positions to pay part-time
staff; aggressive contract negotiations to
reduce the price of outsourced services; the
reduction in staff by attrition, and reduced
overtime.
At the Office of the Campus Principal, I
deliberately decided not to purchase a new
vehicle as was my right as new Campus
Principal. There was no need, as the last
Principal had purchased a vehicle in 2015
which had clocked only about 1000 km when I
took up office. It just so happens that this was
exactly the vehicle I would have selected had I
opted to purchase a new one. I have also taken
a decision to reduce the use of paper in the
office; most people will tell you, for example,
that I download papers for meetings.
WITH UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE
OF GATE, HOW HAS THE CAMPUS BEEN
MANAGING STUDENT ADMISSIONS?
HAS THERE BEEN A DECREASE IN
APPLICATIONS?
There has been a decrease in applications
in some programmes, significantly at the
postgraduate level. In response, we held an
Open Day on May 28 and invited prospective
students to discuss their career goals and
to view UWI offerings. We have extended
application deadlines to June 30. Faculties
have been asked to get in touch directly with
existing students. For the medium and long
term, we will be reviewing our recruitment
strategies.
CAN YOU GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE
STATUS OF THE SOUTH CAMPUS?
We have started to award tenders to
contractors to complete the infrastructure
and some of the buildings. Given the funds
available, the Law Faculty building, the Moot
Court, the Academic building, the Halls of
Residence, the Student Union, the Facilities
Management and the Security buildings will
be ready for use. Sadly, we cannot afford to
complete the Library at this time. We will
accommodate the requisite library services in
one of the completed buildings until it could
be made ready.
Much has been said about the academic
programmes to be offered at the South
Campus. What I can definitely say at this
time, is that Faculties, Departments and Units
that will be the vanguard of South Campus
occupation, will be those with offerings that
leverage the site to support the thrust of the
Campus into new avenues and to increase
the Campus’ earning potential. We have
detailed appropriate criteria for selection
on the basis described. Unless good sense
dictates otherwise, there will be a single
lead Faculty-based operation in the form of
a single programme or suite of programmes.
However, this will be complemented by other
operations.
CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE BIGGEST
CHALLENGES YOU HAVE FACED?
Despite the fact that I spent eight years as
Dean [Faculty of Engineering], I must say
that the past few months have been quite
a learning experience. Notwithstanding the
challenges such as the South Campus, the
protests arising out of the Law Faculty, the
shortfall in Government allocations and the
outstanding negotiations and attendant back-
pay issues, I would have to say that the biggest
challenge thus far has been managing the
pace of the office, more so in an environment
in which systems and processes are not as well
defined as they should be.
That pace is primarily determined by the short
cycle of Campus and University meetings and
is compounded by an organizational structure
that leans to the unwieldy. In addition to the
funding challenge, this has limited my ability
to properly plan and strategize. I intend to
address these structural challenges in short
order.
UWI will be a University that would have
reinvented itself so as to optimally align its
teaching and researchmandate to societal needs,
even as it makes its contribution through the
creation of a stronger culture of innovation.
ONE YEAR IN
The Song of Change
Almost a year after assuming the role of Campus Principal at
St. Augustine,
Professor Brian Copeland
reviews that period
in a
Q&A
with
Vaneisa Baksh, UWI TODAY Editor
, and
talks about the present and the future.
