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Three-day celebration for Sir Arthur Lewis at UWI

For Release Upon Receipt - January 22, 2019

St. Augustine


Sir Arthur Lewis, lauded economist, first Vice-Chancellor of The UWI and first West Indian Campus Principal of the University College of the West Indies – UWI’s predecessor, won a Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979. What impact has his work had since then and what relevance is it to today’s economy? Find out as The UWI’s Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) commemorates his life and work with three days of events beginning tomorrow, January 23.

“Sir Arthur is significant from a UWI perspective and a West Indian perspective,” said Dr. Hamid Ghany, Director of SALISES. “He is someone very much identified with the university and its history.”

This commemoration is an expansion of last year’s campus-wide “Sir Arthur Lewis Day” which coincided with his birthday on January 23. This year’s activities include an academic symposium featuring presentations from leading scholars, a public affairs forum for those interested in learning more about Sir Arthur Lewis, and a Distinguished Lecture with Professor Sir Timothy Besley, the Sir W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Details are as follows:

 

·         January 23 – Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Symposium | 10am to 1pm at the SALISES Conference Room. Presenters include: Dr. Godfrey St. Bernard-Senior Research Fellow; Dr. Preeya Mohan-Post-Doctoral Research Fellow; Dr. Roger Hosein-Senior Lecturer, Economics; and Dr. Hamid Ghany-Director, SALISES. Chaired by Dr Roy Mc Cree, Senior Research Fellow.

·         January 24 – Life and Work of Sir Arthur Lewis Forum | 10am to 1pm at the SALISES Conference Room. Presenters include: Professor Winston Dookeran, Professor of Practice, Institute of International Relations; Dr. Roy Mc Cree, Senior Research Fellow, SALISES; Dr. Daren Conrad, Lecturer, Department of Economics; Mr. Justin Joseph, MPhil Economic Development Policy candidate, SALISES. Chair: Dr. Hamid Ghany, Director, SALISES.

·         January 25 – Sir Arthur Lewis Distinguished Lecture on the topic, “State Capacity and Economic Development” | 7pm at the University Inn and Conference Centre. Presenter: Professor Sir Timothy Besley, Professor of Economics and Political Science, and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics, Department at London School of Economics.

Admission for these events is free and open to the public. To register or for more information please contact Ms. Sharon Hodge at 662-2002 ext. 82391 or email salises@sta.uwi.edu.

 

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About Sir Timothy Besley

Sir Tim Besley is School Professor of Economics and Political Science, and Sir W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).  He is a graduate of Oxford University where he was a Fellow of All Souls College.  From September 2006 to August 2009, he served as an external member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, and since 2015 has been a member of the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission. From 2014-17, he was President of the International Economic Association, and in 2018, he served as the President of the Econometric Society.  His research focuses on development economics, public economics and political economy.

  

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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