News Releases

Olympian takes charge of Sport at UWI St Augustine

For Release Upon Receipt - October 25, 2017

St. Augustine


Jamaican Olympian Grace Jackson has been appointed Director of Sport at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus effective September 30, 2017.  

A celebrated track and field athlete, Jackson won silver in the 200m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics Games and competed in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games.  She also won gold in the 4x400m relay at the 1989 World Games.

She was Jamaica’s Sportswoman of the Year in 1986 and 1988. In 1989 she was awarded the Order of Distinction (OD) by the Government of Jamaica along with several other prestigious awards.

Grace Jackson was formerly at The UWI Mona where she held the position of Sports Development Director from 2010. Before this, she served as Student Services and Development Manager, Sports from 1998 to 2009 also at the Mona campus. She graduated with a BA in Accounting from Alabama, Agricultural and Mechanical University in 1982 and then completed a MA in Computer Science at Queens College in 1987. In 2007, she graduated from the United States Sports Academy, Mobile Alabama with a Master of Sports Science and Sports Management. Jackson has been a regular commentator and analyst on television and radio since 1992 and has acted as lead Caribbean analyst on athletics at the Olympic level for ESPN Caribbean.

Commenting on her new appointment the Director of Sport said “I am no stranger to The UWI and when I consider advancements at the institution like the establishment of the Faculty of Sport I am pleased with the high priority we are placing on the discipline. It is a good time to take up a leadership position in Sport at The UWI St. Augustine and I look forward to making a significant contribution.” Jackson will oversee her first edition of the UWI SPEC International Half-Marathon which takes place on October 29.

The former Director of Sport, Major David Benjamin, held the position from 2014.

 Photo: Grace Jackson

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 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 full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, The UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. 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. Website: www.uwi.edu

(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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