News Releases

UWI St Augustine Campus names four Honorary Graduands

For Release Upon Receipt - October 8, 2010

St. Augustine


 

The University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine Campus will confer four honorary degrees at its annual Graduation Ceremonies to be held on Thursday 28th, Friday 29th and Saturday 30th October, 2010. On October 28th, the Faculty of Science & Agriculture will process in the morning, and the Faculties of Engineering and Law in the afternoon. On October 29th, the Faculty of Social Sciences will process in the morning and the afternoon, and on October 30th, the Faculty of Humanities & Education and the Faculty of Medical Sciences will process in the morning and afternoon respectively. Morning ceremonies will begin at 10am and afternoon ceremonies will begin at 4pm.

The honorary Doctor of Sciences degree (DSc) will be conferred on Mr Thomas Gatcliffe on Thursday 28th October in the morning ceremony, and Mr Doddridge Alleyne will receive the honorary Doctor of Letters degree (LLD) in the afternoon ceremony on the same day. Mrs Diana Mahabir-Wyatt and Mr Hans Hanoomansingh, who will receive the honorary LLD in the morning ceremonies on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th respectively, will be the guest speakers at those ceremonies.

The holder of the Chaconia Gold Medal for business enterprise, Mr Thomas Gatcliffe is respected by many in the business arena. Recently retired from the Board of Directors of the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business—on which he served since its inception—Mr Gatcliffe has never had a dull moment. Chemist, Chairman of Angostura Limited, Director of the Caribbean Communications Network, Chairman of the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce, Mr Gatcliffe has worn many hats. He is one of only six privileged persons to know the secret formula of the world-famous Angostura Aromatic Bitters. 

Doddridge Alleyne, who recently passed away at the age of 83, was dedicated to his craft since the day he graduated from Balliol College in Oxford with a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.  He gave 40 of those 83 years to the Public Service—serving as Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Petroleum and Mines and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Development. Mr Alleyne’s service also extended to the United Nations when he served as Petroleum Advisor to the Government of Kenya from 1980-1982. His induction into the Queen’s Royal College Hall of Honour in 2003 and the Chaconia Gold Medal he received for long and Meritorious Service to Trinidad and Tobago honoured his many years of service to his country.

Diana Mahabir-Wyatt has been an untiring champion for the rights of domestic workers, women, children and the elderly for more than three decades. A Canadian by birth, she has lived and worked for most of her adult life in Trinidad and Tobago. An HR and Industrial Relations Consultant by profession, she is co-founder of the Shelter for Battered Women and Children and the Coalition Against Domestic Violence. As a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Senate for 12 years, she vigorously pursued changes to legislation governing children, industrial relations and equal opportunities for minorities as well as amendments to the Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual Offences Act and the Cohabitation Act.

Hans Hanoomansingh, Chairman and CEO of Heritage Communications Limited, has recently been inducted into the 103FM Hall of Fame (2010) and received the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers’ and Broadcasters’ Association (TTPBA) Excellence in Media Award in 2009. He has produced, narrated and directed many highly acclaimed documentaries, biographies and televised features over the years, such as the life stories of Sir Solomon Hochoy, and former Presidents, Sir Ellis Clarke, Justice Noor Hassanali and Mr Arthur N.R. Robinson. Over the years Mr Hanoomansingh has interviewed many of international and national leaders and legendary personalities; among them Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  Recipient of the 1990 Hummingbird Gold Medal for long and meritorious service in the areas of culture and broadcasting, Mr Hanoomansingh has been ever present in the areas of Public Relations, Travel and Tourism and Public Service.

The UWI St Augustine Campus has also named six Valedictorians. Ms Nakita Noel will speak on the morning of Thursday 28th October. That afternoon, Mr Robert Shirley, will deliver the Valedictory Address at the Faculty of Engineering afternoon ceremony. On Friday 29th October, two ceremonies will be held for the Faculty of Social Sciences, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Mr Nicholas Seemungal will speak at the first, while Ms Vandana Siew Sankar, will address her fellow graduands in the second. Finally, on Saturday 30th October, Mr Erle Wright, Valedictorian from the Faculty of Humanities and Education, will deliver the prestigious address at the morning ceremony, while Ms Priya Sahadeo, from the Faculty of Medical Sciences, will do the honours in the afternoon ceremony later that day.

A total of fifteen Honorary Graduands have been named by the regional university. Graduation ceremonies for the Open Campus take place on October 16th. Mrs Beverley Steele, CBE, MH and Professor Caryl Phillips will receive the honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) and Doctor of Letters (DLitt) degrees respectively. On October 23rd, the celebrations move to the Cave Hill Campus in Barbados, where Rev. Dr. Donald Henry Kortright Davis, The Honourable Elliott Mottley, QC, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang and Charles Straker will receive the honorary LLD. Finally, on November 5th and 6th, the Mona Campus in Jamaica will host the closing celebration, where Mr George Neville Ashenheim and the Honourable William Mc Connell, OJ, CD will receive the LLD, while Dr. Knox Hagley and Dr. Renn Holness will receive the DSc., and Professor Edward Alston Cecil Baugh the DLitt.

 

About UWI Graduation Ceremonies 2010

Graduates will be presented by Faculty as follows.

Thursday October 28th: (Morning) Science & Agriculture; (Evening) Engineering and Law

Friday October 29th: (Morning) Faculty of Social Sciences (Surnames A-L) Undergraduates ONLY & all Arthur Lok Jack graduands only

(Evening) Faculty of Social Sciences (Surnames M-Z) Undergraduates ONLY & all Postgraduate graduands from Departments of Management Studies, Economics, Behavioural Sciences, Institute of International Relations & Centre for Gender & Development Studies

Saturday October 30th: (Morning) Faculty of Humanities & Education; (Evening) Faculty of Medical Sciences                                                                                 

 

About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 50 physical site locations across the region, serving over 20 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences. For more information, please visit www.uwi.edu.

Contact