It is July, and we are halfway through 2025. The year is flying by, and our campus has filled the time with productive and impactful work. Even now with classes completed, we continue offering a range of “summer” courses, vacation camps, and other activities at the faculty, departmental and individual levels.
As we close, I find myself musing at the people behind the value the UWI brings to the community. Some of the most significant work taking place at UWI St Augustine at this time can best be described as “institutional regeneration”, working to ensure that collectively we are well-prepared to fulfill our core services, and in this way, realise our mandate to the country and the region. In this regard, UWI St Augustine’s ultimate asset is its faculty and staff: the many people who at all levels ensure its success. Recently, the campus completed several initiatives to enhance their work experience, celebrate their contributions to the institution, and strengthen the bonds of community.
As Campus Principal, one of my original and most important goals is the revitalisation of connection and campus life for faculty and staff. An important part of this project has been listening to their feedback. I have held Principal’s Listening Sessions to hear the concerns of the campus community.
Similarly, I have an open-door policy, inviting employees to meet and share their issues. Several matters have been addressed this way. Some are being examined as we strive for solutions. Even those that cannot be addressed at this time have been heard and compromises sought.
It was through these Principal’s Listening Sessions that we embarked on an exciting initiative that finally came to fruition this June. On June 13, we held the rededication of The UWI Child Learning and Discovery Facility. This facility, a pet project of mine, is a repurposed space designed to support working parents and foster early childhood development. It was created to help members of the campus community who are forced to rush out to meet their children and face the traffic before rushing back to work, having nowhere to keep the children—a source of stress which could affect their well-being.
The new space has been redesigned to offer safe, affordable, and high-quality care delivered by trained professionals in an engaging environment. Its services will be expanded with the addition of The UWI St Augustine Preschool and an upcoming vacation camp (scheduled for July 14 to 31).
This project was brought to life by the enormous effort of many people on the campus and the generous support of Republic Bank Ltd, one of UWI St Augustine’s most long- standing partners, represented at the ceremony by Ms Karen Yip Chuck, Group Vice President.
In 2023, UWI St Augustine breathed new life into the Research Awards, an event to celebrate our outstanding researchers, which has now become a premier annual event. This past June, we hosted the companion event, the inaugural SPIRIT of Excellence Awards. Held on June 27 at the Daaga Auditorium, SPIRIT (Service Excellence, Phenomenal Performance, Integrity, Responsiveness, Innovation, and Trustworthiness) recognised the contributions to the campus of all administrative, professional, and technical staff.
The awards provide the campus with a way to show our staff their importance to this institution and encourage them to reach further heights. It also signals the excellence of the work and talent on the campus for all to see.
All nominations for the SPIRIT Awards were made by their managers and colleagues, and the winners were selected by a hardworking Planning and Evaluation Committee. The evening, titled “Driven by SPIRIT – Defined by Excellence”, was delightful. The sponsors, Republic Bank Ltd, The UWI Credit Union, Global Brands Ltd, and the Hyatt Regency Trinidad demonstrated the benefit and impact that corporate citizens can bring to the academy and, by extension, the nation.
The active listening that we have been doing extended to some very important, but often overlooked members of the campus community: our retirees. The UWI is still a young institution. That means that people who have given it decades of their professional life and have been crucial to its development are often still around, with all of their skillsets and goodwill intact. In those listening sessions, the retirees expressed a desire to remain connected (or reconnect) to the campus community. We set about making it happen, hosting a wonderful retirees’ session and then doing some important follow-up.
One initiative, the Staff UWI Email for Life Programme, responds to a long held complaint from our retirees. It allows them to regain access to custom-made UWI email accounts. This initiative, enabled by the innovation of our Campus IT Services, ensures that they can continue to receive updates about campus developments, upcoming events, and opportunities for engagement. Just as with our alumni, membership in this community is lifelong.
Campus leadership will continue to implement new ways to improve the work experience at UWI St Augustine. Our services—education, research, policy expertise, outreach, and information services—are vital to society. The better we serve, the better for society. So we will continue to create an environment for our personnel to do their best. And, as one community, we want the best for each other.
