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Region-wide Celebration Begins Saturday as The UWI Launches 2026 Graduation Season

For Release Upon Receipt - October 9, 2026

St. Augustine


The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica, W.I., Friday, October 9, 2026 — The UWI’s biggest season of celebration has arrived. This Saturday, October 10, The University of the West Indies (The UWI) opens its 2026 graduation season at the Five Islands Campus in Antigua and Barbuda.

Over the next five weeks, graduates of the Class of 2026 from the regional university will cross the stage before cheering families, friends and faculty to mark years of hard work and sacrifice. Sixteen ceremonies will be held in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, and the season closes with the Global Campus’ virtual ceremony on November 14. The celebrations will be held under the theme "Built to ADAPT. Ready to LEAD.", a tribute to graduates who have shown they are able to meet change head-on and are, therefore, ready to shape the future of the Caribbean.

In a written message to the graduating class, The Chancellor of the University, Dr. The Most Honourable Dodridge Miller said, "We celebrate a graduating class of critical and creative thinkers; innovators who can transform old ideas into new solutions; graduates who are globally aware, firmly rooted in their identity, and guided by strong ethical values.”

The UWI Five Islands Campus will confer the first set of degrees of the 2026 graduation season at two ceremonies on Saturday, marking the first time in the Campus' history that it will host two graduation ceremonies.

The morning ceremony (10:00 a.m. Antigua and Barbuda/AST | 9:00 a.m. Jamaica/Panama | 8:00 a.m. Belize) will present graduates of the School of Business and Management. The valedictorian is Kahtalia Valentine, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Management Studies with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. Olympic champion, Thea LaFond-Gadson of Dominica will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) for her contribution to sport. Her triple jump gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics was Dominica's first Olympic medal, and it followed her country's first World Indoor title earlier that year.

The afternoon ceremony (4:00 p.m. Antigua and Barbuda/AST | 3:00 p.m. Jamaica/Panama | 2:00 p.m. Belize) will present graduates of the School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, the School of Humanities and Education, and the School of Science, Computing and Artificial Intelligence. The valedictorian is Chemique Harris-Benjamin, who earned a Bachelor of Education in Mathematics Education. Vincentian-born journalist Don Rojas will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) for his contribution to Caribbean and American media. His career spans five decades and includes founding the NAACP's first communications department and co-founding UWItv.

Ms LaFond-Gadson and Mr Rojas are among thirteen distinguished individuals who will be conferred with confer with honorary degrees this season. Their careers span journalism and media, ministry and community service, diplomacy, medicine, agricultural development, law and public service, culture, sport and music. The honourees will be recognised at ceremonies across all campuses. They include Doug E. Fresh and Reverend Dr. Lucille Onita Baird, M.B.E., J.P at the Cave Hill Campus. The St. Augustine Campus will honour Ambassador Colin Granderson, Professor Shaneeta Johnson and Winston R. Rudder. At the Mona Campus, the honorees are Arnold Bertram, Damian Marley, Dawn Robinson-Spence and Milton J. Samuda. The season closes at the Global Campus with honorary degrees earmarked for Melvin L. Claxton and René Baptiste, CMG.

As is tradition, family, friends and well-wishers across the region and around the world can watch every ceremony live on UWItv. Ceremonies are available at www.uwitv.global, on Facebook and through UWItv's cable partners across the Caribbean, including Flow EVO. Channel listings can be found at www.uwitv.global/listings.

The complete schedule for all ceremonies, with faculties, valedictorians, honorary graduands and direct links to each livestream, is available at https://uwitv.global/uwi-graduation-2026/.

2026 Graduation Season at a Glance:

  • Five Islands Campus, Antigua and Barbuda: Saturday, October 10
  • Cave Hill Campus, Barbados: Saturday, October 17
  • St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago: Thursday, October 22 to Saturday, October 24
  • Mona Campus, Jamaica: Thursday, November 5 to Saturday, November 7
  • Global Campus: Saturday, November 14

END

Notes to the Editor

Related News The Region Honours Its Own: UWI Names 13 Honorary Graduands for 2026

About The University of the West Indies

The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has played a crucial role in Caribbean development for over 75 years, consistently contributing to the improvement of the well-being of people across the region.

Established in 1948 as a university college of London in Jamaica, with just 33 medical students, UWI has grown into an internationally respected, global university with nearly 50,000 students. Today, it boasts five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda, and its Global Campus, along with international centres in partnership with universities across North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

The UWI offers over 1000 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the leading university in the Caribbean, it is home to the largest pool of intellect and expertise in the region, dedicated to addressing the critical issues facing both the Caribbean and the wider world.

Validated by its inclusion in the Times Higher Education (THE) annual rankings since 2018, The UWI has affirmed its position as one of the top universities globally. It stands out as the only English-speaking institution in the Caribbean featured in four of THE's prestigious ranking lists. The World University Rankings evaluate over 2,000 research-focused universities worldwide, while the Golden Age University Rankings highlight institutions established between 50 and 80 years ago. The Latin America Rankings focus specifically on universities within Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, the Impact Rankings assess universities based on their contributions to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This recognition has also springboarded the establishment of The UWI’s International School for Development Justice (ISDJ), a global online graduate business school aimed at preparing future leaders for sustainable development.

The UWI is an SDG-engaged university consistently recognised among the best in the world. Discover more at www.uwi.edu.

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