Professor Hamid Ghany retired from the University effective 1st October 2021. He was the Director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Development (SALISES) from 1st October, 2017 to 30th September 2021. Prior to his Directorship at the SALISES he was a Senior Lecturer in Political Science in the Department of Political Science as well as a former Head of the Department of Behavioural Sciences (1999-2003) and a former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (Ag. Dean 2003-2004 and substantive Dean 2004-2012) at The UWI, St. Augustine.
He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of the West Indies (1978); a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from Fordham University, New York, USA (1982); and, a Ph.D. degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, England in Constitutional Law and Government (1987).
He was the recipient of Trinidad and Tobago’s second highest national award, the Chaconia Medal (Gold), for “long and meritorious service to Trinidad and Tobago” as an Educator in the field of Education on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the independence of Trinidad and Tobago in 2012.
His public service over the years has been extensive. He has served on two Constitution Commissions of Trinidad and Tobago (1988-1990) and (2013-2014) and chaired the Public Consultations on (i) Constitution Reform for the late Prime Minister Patrick Manning (2009-2010) on whose Round Table on Constitution Reform he sat (2008-2010) and (ii) for former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on the grant of Internal Self-Government for Tobago (2012). Previously, he had served as a member of the Tobago House of Assembly Technical Team for discussions with the Central Government under the chairmanship of the late Karl Hudson-Phillips, Q.C. (1992-1995). He also served as Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves' representative on the Drafting Committee for the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Draft Constitution in 2009 (together with Dr. Francis Alexis, Q.C.) and he served as an adviser to the late Madam Justice Suzie D’Auvergne, Chairperson of the St. Lucia Constitution Reform Commission (2010-2011).
Among his many publications, he has edited 'The W. Arthur Lewis Reader' (2019), authored 'Constitutional Development in the Commonwealth Caribbean" (2018), co-authored ‘Remapping the Americas’ (2014) with W. Andy Knight and Julián Castro-Rea; authored ‘Kamal: A Lifetime of Politics, Religion and Culture’ (1996); and a Monograph ‘Changing our Constitution’ (2009) as well as several book chapters and also articles in the Journal of Legislative Studies, the International Journal of Human Rights, and the Caribbean Journal of Criminology and Social Psychology among others. He has also presented several papers at international conferences on the subjects of constitutional affairs and parliamentary studies.
In 2014, he was awarded a research grant from the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee in the United Kingdom to lead a research project on 'Magna Carta in the Commonwealth Caribbean' in 2015 in celebration of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.
He was appointed a full Professor on 1st October 2020 and upon his retirement on 1st October 2021, he was appointed an Honorary Professor of The UWI and assigned to the SALISES Departments across The UWI system.
Qualifications
Honours and Awards
Public Service
Professor Michelle Mycoo is a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago and Programme Coordinator of the MSc Degree in Urban and Regional Planning in the Department of Geomatics Engineering and Land Management.
Professor Mycoo holds a PhD in Urban Planning from the School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Canada, a MSc in Urban Planning from the University of Hong Kong and a BA in Geography and Social Sciences from The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Professor Mycoo’s research focuses on cross-cutting themes such as urban planning, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, integrated water resources management, sustainable tourism, integrated coastal zone planning and management, and sustainable development. Her research investigates these inter-sectional issues in relation to Small Island Developing States and the Global South. Through her research, numerous keynote addresses and presentations she seeks to strengthen the science-policy-practice nexus.
As the recipient of several individual and team awards including for excellence in teaching, research and public service over her academic career, she continues to impact on knowledge production and transfer. Her latest team award was the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity (2022) awarded to the climate scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which prepared the Sixth Assessment Report. Among her research outputs are numerous scholarly and policy relevant journal articles, books, book chapters and technical reports. Her research has attracted funding from major regional and international donors including the Caribbean Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Union, the International Development Research Centre of Canada, and the Commonwealth Foundation.
As part of her mission to contribute to transformational Caribbean development, she currently serves as Honorary Professor of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at The University of the West Indies with which she has had a long affiliation as Honorary Senior Research Fellow. She was the former Deputy Executive Director of the UWI Global Institute for Climate Smart and Resilient Development and continues to serve as a member of the Management Committee.
Professor Mycoo is a member of the International Science Council functioning on the Small Island Developing State Liaison Committee, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Vice President of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation for the Management of Social Transformation and Regional Engagement Partner of Future Earth Coasts. She was the Coordinating Lead Author of the Small Islands chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group II on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Summary for Policymakers.
George Saridakis is a Professor of Small Business and Entrepreneurship and Head of the Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and International Business at Kent University. During his academic career, he has also acted as Director of research centres and PhD/DBA programmes.
After completing his MSc in Economics at Surrey University he embarked on a PhD Programme in which he graduated with a PhD in Economics from Essex University. Professor Saridakis also studied Philosophy at Cambridge University (PGCert) and at Kent University (MA).
Professor Saridakis has taught at various UK and international universities and has received several teaching awards. He has also participated as an external assessor for prestigious accreditation bodies (e.g., AMBA). His research has been presented at several conferences and he is a recipient of many distinctions, honours, and prizes. He has also been included in the top 2% of scientific researchers in the world list prepared by Stanford University for 2023. Professor Saridakis has held various honorary and/or visiting posts with several universities (e.g., the University of Dhaka, University of Brunei Darussalam).
Professor Saridakis is a Senior Editor of the Information Technology and People and a member of various other editorial boards. He joined the Board of Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Trustees in 2023.
SALISES
UWI St. Augustine
Tel: (868) 662-2002 exts 82038, 82391
Email: salises@sta.uwi.edu
