News Releases

UWI St. Augustine marks 58th Anniversary

For Release Upon Receipt - October 12, 2018

St. Augustine


Today October 12, the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI) celebrates its 58th Founder’s Day—the day in 1960 when the Campus came into being as the second campus of The UWI. This year’s anniversary coincides with the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of The UWI, with its first campus in Mona, Jamaica.

At that time, the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture - precursor to the St. Augustine Campus - was internationally renowned for its high quality of research conducted by top scientists in tropical agriculture. In those pre-Independence days, Sir Philip Sherlock, Founding Father and first Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, considered that the institution would “multiply opportunities for vertical mobility”. He believed science and technology would provide society with a “corpus of knowledge based on research; and broaden the intellectual base that universal suffrage and political independence demanded”.

Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal Professor Brian Copeland noted that today, the St. Augustine Campus remains a premier Caribbean tertiary education and research institution. At St. Augustine, there are multiple areas of study in seven faculties, including biomedical technology, engineering, law, dance, and hundreds of other programmes at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

“St. Augustine Campus”, he said, “is committed to UWI’s 70-year mission to advance learning, create knowledge, and foster innovation for a sustainable Caribbean. From 33 students in 1960, we at St. Augustine can boast a student body of 19,000 and growing. Our graduates are equipped with the knowledge, the innovation, and the sense of purpose to address the serious challenges currently facing the Caribbean”.

The 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings show that The University of the West Indies, the only Caribbean institution on the world-wide list, is among the 1,258 top universities in the world. The UWI is part of the elite band of the top 5% of universities worldwide based on data showing that there are over 25,000 recognised universities, globally.

Professor Copeland gave the assurance that the St. Augustine Campus would continue to focus on innovating all aspects of operations including academic programme restructuring and delivery, even while treating with the economic downturn facing all local organizations. “I look forward to the continued support and commitment of all, on and off the Campus, as we collaboratively strive for true sustainable development for this region.”

 

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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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