News Releases

UWI announces the promotion of five new professors

For Release Upon Receipt - June 10, 2016

UWI


The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has added five new professors to its distinguished faculty. Dr Asha Badaloo, of the Tropical Medicine Research Institute (TMRI), Faculty of Medical Sciences, Mona Campus; Dr Andanappa Gadad, of the School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, St Augustine Campus; Dr Paula Morgan, of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, St Augustine Campus; Dr Sureshwar Pandey, of the School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, St Augustine Campus; and Dr James Robertson, of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, Mona Campus, were all promoted to professors, following the assessment of their individual academic accomplishments and contributions to their respective fields.

According to the University’s ordinances, a member of academic staff, previously holding a senior lecturership may be promoted to a professorship based on his or her record of distinguished, original work; outstanding success in and wide recognition of professional activities; and enhancement of the reputation of the University in the individual’s field of work through his or her own contribution to the development of the field in areas such as academic leadership, postgraduate studies and other projects or activities.

The promotion to a professorship must also be supported by at least two external assessors selected by the Vice-Chancellor after consultation with the Dean of the respective Faculty. The endorsements from external assessors confirm the exemplary performance of these members of faculty, making them deserving of the highest academic rank at the institution:

·         Dr Asha Badaloo – “In my judgement, Dr Badaloo does indeed have a record of distinguished original work as evidenced by her steady and important contributions to the fields of childhood malnutrition as well as stable isotopic methodology in the measurement of human metabolism.”

·         Dr Andanappa Gadad – “I find Dr Gadad’s record of original research to be distinguished and representative of a career dedicated to enhancing and communicating new knowledge in the area of Medicinal Chemistry.”

·         Dr Paula Morgan – “Dr Morgan’s scholarly works demonstrate an engaged commitment to the field of Anglophone Caribbean literature and to the specific socio-cultural manifestations of violence and trauma as mitigated by gender. Her work provides sound models for young researchers who are increasingly being encouraged to embrace the dialogue required of contemporaneous research.”

·         Dr Sureshwar Pandey – “Dr Pandey is well-rounded in various facets of pharmacy education and research. He has made significant contributions in both formulation/drug delivery and pharmacy practice. His work not only contributed to better drug delivery systems, but also better utilisation of these systems in patients.”

·         Dr James Robertson – “Over a thirty-year academic career, Dr Robertson has demonstrated considerable zeal, ability and productivity in establishing himself as a specialist in 17th and 18th century Jamaican history.”

 

Having overall performance deemed consistent with The UWI’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research and service to the region, these appointments were confirmed at the University’s Finance and General Purpose Committee (F&GPC) meeting, on May 27, 2016.

 

ABOUT THE NEW PROFESSORS

Dr Asha Badaloo

Dr Asha Badaloo has a record of research as well as substantial contribution to the University community through graduate training, scholarly and professional service. She has held a Wellcome Trust Fellowship in the UK and was a Fulbright Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine, USA.

Dr Badaloo's main area of research is in the use of stable isotopes to investigate human metabolism and she is a recognised expert in these research techniques. A substantial part of her research has focused on understanding the impact of severe childhood malnutrition on metabolism of protein and lipids, which has earned international recognition for its contribution to advances in the management of severely malnourished children. Dr Badaloo has 40 peer-reviewed publications, many in high impact international journals, and three book chapters. She has raised research funds to support her work from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and has had several successful international collaborations.

Dr Badaloo contributes to teaching of nutrition on the MBBS and the Masters in Nutrition. She has supervised a number of graduate students and co-ordinates the PhD Nutrition programme. She currently chairs the TMRI training committee and represents the TMRI on the FMS Graduate Studies Committee. Dr Badaloo has served on national and regional nutrition committees. She has acted as reviewer for prestigious international journals and has presented her research at several regional and international conferences.

 

Dr Andanappa Gadad

Dr Andanappa Gadad, of The UWI St Augustine Campus’ School of Pharmacy began working in the Faculty of Medical Sciences from September 2004. Since joining the School, Dr Gadad has been involved in teaching six-credit courses Medicinal Chemistry PHAR 2202 and Pharmaceutical Chemistry PHAR 1202 as well as conducting laboratory sessions. He is appreciated by the pharmacy student community for his well-organised lecturers and student-friendly approach, and boasts a student rating of 4 on the scale of 5.

Despite a demanding teaching load, Dr Gadad continues to be prolific researcher. He retains close ties with colleagues in India and his collaborations have led to several published papers in high rated journals and several conference presentations since 2004. Three of them have been Science Direct’s top 25 hottest articles (2007, 2009 and 2011) with more than 600 citations. He has also acted as a member of the editorial board and reviewer for several international journals.

Dr Gadad also contributes meaningfully to Faculty life. He is coordinator for the School’s Health and Safety committee and a member of the Faculty’s Student Affairs committee. In his contribution to teaching, Dr Gadad has prepared the syllabus and other required material for split courses, Pharmaceutical Chemistry PHAR 1202 and Medicinal Chemistry PHAR 2202, and developed a ‘Practical and Information Manual in Pharmaceutical Chemistry’.

 

Dr Paula Morgan

Dr Paula Morgan has been a full-time member of faculty at The UWI St. Augustine campus for 16 years. She has published in her core discipline Literatures in English as well as in the sub-fields of pedagogical approaches to language, literature and culture, popular culture, gender and ethnic representation, and cultures of violence in the Caribbean. These academic interests are reflected in a range of single-authored and dual-authored, single-edited and dual-edited books and journal collections, 31 refereed book and journal articles, two instructional texts, three online journal issues, five papers in published conference proceedings and one commissioned research report.

In 2011 Dr  Morgan  inaugurated  the  scholarly,  peer  reviewed,  online  open  access  journal  Tout Moun: Cultural Studies Journal. Dr Morgan's Language Proficiency for Tertiary Levels: A Self-Instructed Course for Caribbean Students and Writing about Literature, are instructional texts serving courses designed for distance and dual mode delivery.

Between 1996 and 1998, Dr Morgan served as editor of the Women and Development Studies Group News and has also been a member of the Board of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies from 1999 to the present. Between 2008 and 2011 she served as Head of the Department of Liberal Arts. One of her most significant achievements was steering the Department through the subdivision into the present Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies and the Department of Modern Language and Linguistics. As Deputy Dean, Distance and Outreach (1999-2002), Dr Morgan oversaw the introduction of the Faculty's mid-year programme, and as coordinator of the Cultural Studies graduate programme (2007-2011), she supervised the implementation of practice-based examinations. Since 2011 she has served as the coordinator for the graduate programmes in Literatures in English and has substantially revised the MA programme.

Dr Morgan has also served on several regional and campus committees, and was a member of the University Senate in 2010. In June 2012, Dr Morgan was selected to chair a Cabinet-appointed Scholarships Committee, and also serve as a member of the Citizen's Committee to select National Icons for Awards on the occasion of Trinidad and Tobago’s 50th Anniversary Independence Celebrations.

 

Dr Sureshwar Pandey

Dr Sureshwar Pandey has acted as Director of the School of Pharmacy at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, The UWI St. Augustine since 2010. Under his directorship, the School has shown signs of expansion and development in curriculum and student enrolment. Heavily-weighted courses have been split into more manageable parts and student numbers have increased, with the latter resulting in an improvement in the School’s financial position. The BSc Pharmacy (mixed mode) programme was also developed and implemented during his tenure. Dr Pandey has also led the School through a Quality Assurance exercise.

Dr Pandey carries a full teaching load, with at least 14 credits per year, and the students’ evaluations have been positive. He has 73 articles in refereed journals with one recently accepted for publication. Seven of his publications are the result of the collaborative projects with other UWI staff members. In 2011, he was awarded a TT$75,000 grant by the Campus Research and Publications Fund to advance his work in pharmaceutics. Dr Pandey has successfully supervised six PhD students, as well as a number of MSc students, many of whom are based in India. In addition to his service on Faculty committees, Dr Pandey is also a member of the Drug Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health and is an executive member of the Forum of Indian Nationals in Trinidad and Tobago.

 

Dr James Robertson

Dr James Robertson has been a member of the Department of History and Archaeology since August 1995, when he was recruited as a Lecturer. His research has clustered around aspects of urban history, cultural history and the stories that communities tell themselves to comprehend their current status.

Dr Robertson is well-published, and has received numerous grants and fellowships including the Andrew W. Mellon, Gilder-Lerner and John Carter Brown Library Fellowships as well as those offered by the National Maritime Museum, the Henry E. Huntington Library, The British Library and Oxford Brookes University. His book, "Gone is the Ancient Glory"! Spanish Town, Jamaica, 1534-2000, is the first English language urban history to cover the development of a Caribbean town from its foundation to the present.  He has published one book, 17 single authored refereed articles, nine chapters in refereed volumes, contributed to co-authored articles and co-edited a special issue of Caribbean Quarterly. He has also published a further 14 articles in various academic but non-refereed journals, along with at least nine chapters in non-refereed academic volumes, and 27 reviews. He is currently working on three books. He has been a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Early American History since its foundation in 2009.

Dr Robertson has developed six new courses, and recast and taught a further four courses, two at the postgraduate level. He has also supervised one PhD and is serving as a committee member for two more. He has also supervised 15 Masters degrees in areas such as Heritage Studies, History and Geography, and is currently supervising four Heritage Studies MAs and one History MPhil. He has been the Department's liaison with the University Library since 1996. In September 2013, he was elected Fellow of Britain’s Royal Historical Society. He has also served the Jamaican Historical Society, the Archaeological Society of Jamaica, the Institute of Jamaica’s Museum division, and the American Society for 18th Century Studies. He is the National Archives Advisory Committee’s longest serving member, having been appointed in 2003.

End

 

About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a fully-fledged, regional University with over 50,000 students. Today, The UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with three physical campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and an Open Campus. The UWI serves 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos. The UWI’s faculty and students come from more than 40 countries and The University has collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. The UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation.

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

For more information, visit www.uwi.edu

 

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