News Releases

UWI Mona Principal to head Jamaican Port Authority

For Release Upon Receipt - June 7, 2013

St. Augustine


UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica – The University of the West Indies has, with deep regret, agreed that Professor the Hon Gordon Shirley, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Mona Campus, will be seconded to the Government of Jamaica to serve as Head of the Port Authority of Jamaica for three years. The UWI sees this as firm recognition of Professor Shirley’s exceptional leadership skills and as an opportunity for him to take the excellent national service that he already provides in numerous capacities to another level.  His vision and managerial capacity are exceptional and he has served or currently serves on a number of national and private sector boards including:

  • Chair, National Task Force, Logistics Hub Initiative 
  • Chair, Police Services Commission 
  • Chair, Board of the Grace Kennedy Foundation
  • Member of the JPSCo Board 

Professor Shirley’s tenure at The UWI began in 1991 with his appointment as Head of the Department of Management Studies. Following a successful term, he went on to serve as Executive Director of the Mona School of Business from 1997 to 2004, during which time he managed the transformation of the Mona Institute of Business into a profitable, self-sustaining School of Business with endowments for Research and Entrepreneurial Studies. Enrolment increased significantly under his leadership with the introduction of new programmes, despite increased competition from international business schools in Jamaica. 

While Executive Director of the Mona School of Business, Professor Shirley also served as Executive Chairman of the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited. In 2004, he was seconded to the Government of Jamaica to serve as Jamaica’s Ambassador to Washington D.C. − another role that he discharged with distinction. 

He returned to The UWI in 2007 to serve as Principal of the Mona Campus, a role in which his leadership and management skills have been fully exercised. During his tenure, Mona Campus received institutional accreditation by the University Council of Jamaica. There have been numerous infrastructure developments on the campus, including the new Faculty of Law, new student housing, the Faculty of Medical Sciences Research and Teaching Complex to ensure that students and staff have the best available facilities in which to learn and conduct research, and numerous in-Faculty infrastructure improvements that employ information and communication technologies to enhance the learning experience for our students. The sports programme at the Mona Campus grew tremendously through partnerships with sports management agencies and clubs, the most famous being the Racers Club which is home to several national sporting heroes.  The sports infrastructure has been improved as has the human resourcing of the sports programme.  

Professor Shirley steered the Mona Campus through these and other significant developments during a time when the financing of higher education was and is a significant challenge. His sterling leadership and management skills have enabled the Mona Campus not only to remain stable, but to grow in terms of student numbers, significant enhancement of the physical plant, programmes of high quality - as demonstrated by the institutional accreditation -, and the support of the staff and students who consider him to be an exceptional leader.   

Professor Shirley’s new assignment will leave a significant gap at The UWI since it is the entire University, not only the Mona Campus, which benefits from his wise counsel, incisive interventions and problem solving skills. 

Professor Shirley will begin his new assignment at the end of September 2013 on secondment to the Government for a three-year period. The University is actively considering a suitable replacement for Professor Shirley and expects to make an announcement within the next several weeks. 

End

About The UWI

In just over six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, The 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. The UWI has launched an Open Campus, a virtual campus with 45 physical site locations across the region, serving 16 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. The 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, The 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.)

For the latest UWI News, click http://sta.uwi.edu/news

Contact