News Releases

The Passing of Professor Emeritus Nazeer A. Ahmad

For Release Upon Receipt - June 7, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago –The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine is mourning the passing of Professor Emeritus Nazeer A. Ahmad, one of the few surviving Associates of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture (AICTA).

Professor Ahmad was born in 1932 and was an undergraduate from 1949-1952 (DICTA) and a postgraduate student (AICTA) from 1952-1953. He went on to do his MSc in Canada (Mc Gill University and the University of British Columbia), and then his PhD in the UK.  In 1957 he returned to the then British Guiana and took up the position of Agricultural Chemist and Head of the Division of Soil Science in the Ministry of Agriculture.

In 1961, Professor Ahmad assumed the position of lecturer at The UWI, St Augustine Campus, and became a Professor of Soil Science in 1969 and was the founding Warden of Canada Hall of Residence. He was well loved by the residents, also known as the Hermits, and was a father figure to many who lived there.

Principal Clement Sankat noted that Professor Ahmad had served the University with great distinction and helped build the Faculty of Agriculture of a fledgling Campus. “He was the leading expert in the Region in this area of our Agriculture, was often called upon to give expert advice on matters of this nature. He trained several undergraduate and postgraduate students to follow in this path. I am pleased he was able to complete his monumental book on Soil Science, published by Ian Randle, before his passing so that we were able to launch it here and in Guyana,” he added.

Professor Ahmad’s work in Tropical Soil is internationally acclaimed. He was awarded the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) Gold Medal for his contribution to research in Soil Science in the Caribbean and Latin American region. He was Professor Emeritus of the Department of Food Production in the Faculty of Food and Agriculture at the time of his passing on June 6.

Visitations and ceremonies for Professor Nazeer Ahmad take place on Saturday June 8, 2013, at 1pm.  The Janaaza will be read at 3pm. Burial will take place at The UWI Cemetery at 3.30pm according to Islamic rites. No flowers by request.

The University extends condolences to his family.

End

About The UWI

In just over 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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