A Passion for Progress
 The UWI St Augustine is saying farewell to Mr Ewart Williams after 10 years of service in the role of Campus Council Chair.
Each UWI campus has its own Council, which serves as its governing body, with representatives from every department as well as the student body and various other private and public sector stakeholders. The Chair is appointed by the Chancellor to serve a five-year term.
Before taking up his position as Chair, Mr Williams worked for 30 years at the International Monetary Fund, retiring in 2002 as Deputy Director of the Western Hemisphere Department. He was appointed as Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago in 2002 and served two five year terms, leaving in 2012.
Mr Williams was passionate and enthusiastic to give back to The UWI, the institution that has contributive so much to his formative years. He credits much of his success at the IMF to his studies at the University, where students were taught to question the established orthodoxy and to analyse economic issues, taking into consideration the social and institutional characteristics of the countries under review. He thought that his undergraduate experience, which emphasised clear thinking and high-quality writing skills, served him very well in his journey through the IMF.
As Chair of the Campus Council Mr Williams felt strongly that the University should take a more active role in seeking to resolve the problems faced by the host country and other regional members. In addition to advocacy and discussion fora, he urged that the University’s considerable resources be made available through hands-on technical assistance to the Government and communities. Mr Williams provided strong support for the policy of encouraging faculties to introduce community projects into their course work.
During his two terms he was a champion for the Campus’ student-centred focus. In particular, he urged that graduates be made more workplace ready, so that they are able to enhance their contribution to their work environment and community much faster. \
Mr Williams is very satisfied with progress that the Campus has made over the past few years, notwithstanding the financing challenges that it has had to confront. He points to the expansion in programme offerings to satisfy the needs of the community, the impressive increase in postgraduate enrollment and the increasing collaboration with the private sector. He is confident that The UWI is well on the way to being the kind of university to which we all aspire– a first class global university, deeply rooted in the development of the Caribbean.
"I’m really convinced that there is strength in numbers and if you could succeed in transferring that passion and that enthusiasm to the people you work with, then people will be enthusiastic about what they do," he said.
Look out for the next issue of UWI Today where we will have an in-depth interview with Mr Ewart Williams about his thoughts on his time as Campus Council Chair.
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