For Release Upon Receipt - January 4, 2013
St. Augustine
ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – The Vice-Chancellor, of The University of the West Indies, Professor E. Nigel Harris, is pleased to announce that the University Finance and General Purposes Committee (the Standing Committee of the University Council) has accepted his recommendation for the reappointment of Professor Clement Sankat as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the St Augustine Campus for a further four years, until his retirement on September 30th, 2016. At that time, he would have served The UWI for 38 years as a Professor, Head of Department, Dean, PVC (Graduate Studies) and as PVC and Campus Principal.
Professor Sankat was first appointed as Campus Principal on January 1, 2008 succeeding Professor Bridget Brereton who acted as Principal for six months following the appointment of former Principal, Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie, as Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Planning and Development.
During his first term as Principal, Professor Sankat has overseen a significant expansion of both the undergraduate and postgraduate student body, outstripping the other campuses within the University to become the largest residential campus of The UWI, without any apparent decline in the quality of academic and service delivery; attainment of accreditation of many professional programmes such as Engineering, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Dentistry, capped off by the achievement of institutional accreditation by the Accreditation Council of Trinidad & Tobago (ACTT). Under his watch the St Augustine Campus has also benefitted from substantial infrastructural development, including construction of The Sir George Alleyne Health Economic Centre, the Sir Arthur Lewis Hall of Residence on St John’s Road, the Canada Hall Renovation, refurbishment of the main Administrative Building, The New University Inn, the Facilities Management Head Office, the Teaching and Learning Complex located on Circular Road, St Augustine, and the establishment of the satellite South Campus at Penal-Debe − site of the Faculty of Law currently under construction − among many other projects. Professor Sankat has also contributed to the advancement of the graduate education and research agenda of The UWI.
Thanks to a combination of his vision, communication and networking skills, the campus has fashioned very robust partnerships not only with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and stakeholders in the private sector, but also with local, regional and international organisations and countries outside the Caribbean region. Even in the face of challenges, his collegiality, good-naturedness, student and staff centredeness and tireless commitment to both the campus and the regional project have enabled him to maintain a steady course towards the achievement of the strategic objectives of The University of the West Indies.
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About UWI
Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with 45 physical site locations across the region, serving 16 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Food & Agriculture, and Social Sciences.
(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)
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