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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 14 MAY, 2017
UWI MATTERS
Farewell to Sir George Alleyne
“An extraordinary physician and scholar
, research
scientist, orator and progressive public health leader, whose
life in service to humanity and impact on the University, the
Caribbean and the Americas has been profound.” This was
part of the citation read on Professor Emeritus Sir George
Alleyne on April 26, 2017. Regional colleagues together
with family and friends of Sir George celebrated his career
as Chancellor of The UWI at a farewell dinner, held in his
honour, at the Cave Hill Campus. Sir George will demit
office in July, after serving two consecutive seven-year terms
as Chancellor.
In response to the tributes, Sir George Alleyne credited
The UWI with shaping his sense of being West Indian.
He said it enabled him to fulfil “the canons of proper
socialization” and he described the institution as “an
inextricable part of my identity which I carry throughout
my life.”
“For the past thirteen and a half years I have been
Chancellor and ever conscious of the responsibility that
came with following in the footsteps of persons of eminence
and distinction. There was a princess of the royal blood
followed by three eminent West Indian lawyers, different in
style perhaps, but all displaying the deep and fierce concern
for the well-being of the institution as a whole and absolutely
committed to upholding and enhancing its reputation. I
have been privileged to witness the remarkable growth of
the University and the addition of the Open Campus.”
As Chancellor from 2003 to 2010, and then 2010 to
2017, Sir George’s years of distinguished service in the office
have left an indelible mark in the history of The UWI. In
addition to his Chancellorship, he spent 23 years working at
the regional University. He was given the honorary title of
Professor Emeritus after leavingThe UWI in 1981 to assume
the position of Chief of the Unit of Research, Promotion
and Coordination in the Division of Human Resources and
Research at PAHO/WHO and ascended to the position of
Director of PAHO in 1995. He is a proud alumnus, having
graduated in 1957 as the gold medallist with the Degree of
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MB.BS), from the then
University College of the West Indies.
Outgoing Chancellor of The UWI, Professor Emeritus Sir George Alleyne with his family at the official farewell dinner in his honour
at The UWI Cave Hill Campus on April 26, 2017.
Sir George has received numerous awards, including
decorations and national honours frommany countries of
the Americas. In 1990, he was made Knight Bachelor by
HerMajestyQueen Elizabeth II for his services tomedicine
and in 2001, he was awarded the Order of the Caribbean
Community, the highest honour that can be conferred on
a Caribbean national.
Speaking at the gala, Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir
Hilary Beckles described the outgoing Chancellor as a
model of commitment and caring.
“He has given of his best… It does not take cash
to care, it takes consciousness. Sir George is driven by
this value, care for The University of the West Indies
that cared for him, a lesson in loyalty to be admired and
celebrated.This caring at times called for caution and other
times for creativity but in all circumstances it called for
commitment. This will be, in my judgment, the legacy of
this man from (St. Philip).”
The Barbados-based Chronic Disease Research Centre
has been renamed in honour of prominent
health official and academic Professor Emeritus Sir George Alleyne, the outgoing Chancellor of The
UWI.
At the renaming ceremony on April 25, Barbados Minister of Health, John Boyce, and Principal
of the Cave Hill Campus, Professor Eudine Barriteau, praised the former Director of the PanAmerican
Health Organization (PAHO) for his invaluable service.
“He is thoroughly deserving of our highest accolades and recognition. Sir George has given
magnanimous public service and continues to do so to this day,” said Professor Barriteau, lauding
his contribution to public health and medicine.
“Sir George has been a consummate academic who believes resolutely that research should drive
policy development in health care. His views on the value and significance of research are not only
aligned with, but are in the vanguard of those in the academy who see research as the determining
feature which separates universities from other tertiary level institutions.
“Research can improve Caribbean lives, accelerate regional development and ought to be
an integral part of any university’s existence. At The UWI, research constitutes part of our core
mandate. Indeed, I can think of no more enduring form of recognition with which to grant our
revered Chancellor, than to link his name in perpetuity to our foremost, internationally acclaimed
medical research unit. From today on this will be known as the George Alleyne Chronic Disease
Research Centre.”
A Health Economics building was renamed in recognition of Sir George at The UWI St.
Augustine Campus some years ago, while UWI Mona plans to name a new wing at the Faculty of
Medical Sciences Teaching and Research Complex in his honour.
The Health Minister praised the work of the Centre, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
He noted that it has been an invaluable partner for his Ministry in conducting health research in
Barbados, and the country’s success in tackling non-communicable diseases.
The renaming “recognizes Sir George’s legacy and will ensure that his name is associated with
an institution that seeks to embody the scholarship in and dedication to medicine and public health
which he has demonstrated throughout his life,” Minister Boyce said.
From left: Pro
Vice-Chancellor
and Principal, The
UWI Cave Hill,
Professor V. Eudine
Barriteau; Director of
the Chronic Disease
Research Centre
(CDRC), Dr. T. Alafia
Samuels; wife of Sir
George, Lady Sylvan
I. Chen; Professor
Emeritus Sir George
Alleyne, and Barbados
Minister of Health,
Mr. John Boyce.
Medical Research Centre Renamed in Honour of Retiring Chancellor
