News Releases

The UWI announces Sharon Christopher as new St. Augustine Campus Council Chair

For Release Upon Receipt - February 8, 2019

UWI


Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. February 8, 2019—The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Sharon Christopher as Chair of the St. Augustine Campus Council for the five-year period, November 16, 2018 to July 31, 2023.

According to the University's Statutes and Ordinances—Statute 7—as Chair, Ms. Christopher “will preside at meetings of the St. Augustine Campus Council, and shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be conferred or imposed”.

Sharon Christopher, an alumna of The UWI, is an Attorney at Law, Leadership Development Coach and Motivational Speaker. She is founder and CEO of Sharon Christopher and Associates, which provides services throughout the Caribbean and North America. A highly experienced Board Director and holder of the designation of Accredited Director, Ms. Christopher has served on numerous boards in various sectors, locally, regionally, and internationally.  She was a member of the Working Committee that developed the National Code of Corporate Governance for Trinidad and Tobago; a member of the Frank Rampersad Commission for the rationalization of companies within the State Sector and a member of the Governance Committee of the Government's Vision 20:20 initiative.

A former Senior Banking Executive, Ms. Christopher also brings to The University of the West Indies some 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, with proven success as a catalyst for change and driver of results. She is a known advocate for women’s empowerment, rights, equality and social justice and was the founding Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at The UWI.

Ms. Christopher is the holder of a Bachelor of Laws degree (Upper Second Class Honours) from the Cave Hill Campus of The UWI, a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School, from which she graduated as the Most Outstanding Student, and a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics (University of London).

She succeeds Mr. Ewart Williams, former Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, who served the University with distinction over the past 10 years as Campus Chair.

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Notes to the Editor:

About Campus Council

Each campus has a Council, a governing body with powers as prescribed in the University’s Statute 21. The Campus Council is constituted in accordance with Statute 19 and includes the Chair; Vice-Chancellor; Campus Principal; Deputy Principal; Campus Registrar; Campus Bursar; Deans of all faculties; representatives of all categories of staff; representatives of the Guild of Students; representatives of the Academic Board of other campuses; representatives of the Alumni body; representatives of the governments of The UWI’s contributing countries; representatives of Tertiary Level Institutions in the Caribbean; and nominees appointed by the Chancellor from among persons in industry, commerce, the professions, the labour movement and other non-governmental organizations. The Chair of Campus Council, who is appointed by the Chancellor, serves for a period of five years and can be re-appointed on the advice of the Chancellor. The Campus Councils meet annually, largely to receive detailed reports from officers and committees, which have responsibilities derived from the University's Charter and other instruments. Such reports include academic and curriculum updates, statistics on students, staffing issues and strategic initiatives undertaken. The 2019 sitting of the St. Augustine Campus Council on March 19, 2019 marks the inaugural meeting for new Council Chair, Ms. Sharon Christopher.

 

About The UWI

For the past 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider world. The UWI has evolved from a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally respected, regional university with near 50,000 students and four campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, and an Open Campus. As part of its robust globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with universities in North America, Asia, and Africa such as the State University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development, the UWI-China Institute of Information Technology, the University of Lagos (UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African and Diaspora Studies and the Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. 

As the region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost objective is driving the growth and development of the regional economy. Times Higher Education has ranked The UWI among the top 1,258 universities in world for 2019, and the 40 best universities in its Latin America Rankings for 2018, and was the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists.  For more, visit 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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