Seven members of The UWI community were presented with the 2015 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence at a ceremony at the Cave Hill Campus in October.
From the St. Augustine Campus were Professor Hariharan Seetharaman of the Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences; Professor Surendra Arjoon of the Faculty of Social Sciences; Dr. Sandra Gift, Head of the Quality Assurance Unit, and Professor Patricia Mohammed, Campus Coordinator, School for Graduate Studies and Research and Head of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies.
A University tradition for more than 20 years, the awards recognise and reward outstanding performance in Teaching, Research Accomplishments, Service to University Community, Contributions to Public Service, and All-round Excellence in a combination of two or more of the four core areas. In the 2012-2013 academic year, a departmental award was added to recognise quality, service and operational excellence.
The 2015 honorees included: Professor Michael Taylor of the Department of Physics at the Mona Campus; Professor Byron Wilson, of the Department of Life Sciences at the Mona Campus; and the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), Faculty of Science and Technology at the Cave Hill Campus
For more about the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence, visit:www.uwi.edu/vcaward/vcawardforexcellence.aspx
THE HONOREES:
Professor Hariharan Seetharaman,
Professor of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, St. Augustine Campus
Outstanding Research Accomplishments
In addition to clinical and teaching commitments, Professor Hariharan Seetharaman has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals. His interest in developing innovative models for performance measurement of healthcare units, including ICUs, has led him to pioneer work in the area of healthcare management. He has conducted expansive research in other areas including critical care, medical ethics, general surgery and health economics. Outside of his medical qualifications, Professor Seetharaman has successfully defended and completed his PhD research thesis in economics and is awaiting the award of the degree.
Professor Michael Taylor,
Head, Department of Physics, Mona Campus
Outstanding Research Accomplishments
Professor Michael Taylor’s general areas of academic specialisation are environmental physics, climate variability, climatology and climate change. He is well known for undertaking the study of Caribbean climate variability and climate change at a time when studies devoted to the region were largely led by persons outside the region. Among his publishing accomplishments is a book authored earlier this year, “Why Climate Demands Change.” In May 2015, he played the lead role in securing a US$10.4 million grant for the Mona Campus.
Professor Surendra Arjoon,
Professor of Business and Professional Ethics. Head, Department of Management Studies, Department of Management Studies, St. Augustine Campus
All-Round Excellence Award in the combined areas of Teaching and Research Accomplishments
Professor Surendra Arjoon’s research, teaching and practice in ethics are all integrated. He has pioneered both research and teaching in the areas of business and professional ethics at The UWI and is internationally recognised for his work. In 2012, Professor Arjoon was the winner of a UWI/Guardian Life Premium Teaching Award.
Dr. Sandra Gift,
Senior Programme Officer, Quality Assurance Unit, St. Augustine Campus
Outstanding Service to the University Community
Within the regional Quality Assurance Unit, Dr. Sandra Gift has long played a lead role in building awareness among The UWI community and external stakeholders on quality in higher education issues. Dr. Gift successfully led the St. Augustine Campus’ inaugural institutional accreditation exercise involving six self-study working groups and internal and external stakeholder consultations. She cultivated general awareness of the importance of institutional accreditation while securing the Campus’ accreditation for the maximum time possible.
Professor Patricia Mohammed,
Head and Professor of Gender and Cultural Studies, St. Augustine Campus
All-round Excellence in two or more core areas (Research Accomplishments and Service to the University Community)
Professor Patricia Mohammed leads two interdisciplinary academic fields and has successfully introduced a gender perspective into Caribbean Cultural Studies, generating an original body of work in visual studies and visual intelligence in and of the region. She has consistently advanced knowledge in these fields, shaped research agendas, influenced curriculum offerings, supported graduate students and influenced policy locally, regionally and internationally.
Professor Byron Wilson,
Professor, Herpetology & Conservation Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, Mona Campus
All-round Excellence in two or more core areas (Research Accomplishments and Public Service)
While Professor Byron Wilson has a proven record of leadership in research, his efforts to document and conserve Jamaica’s biodiversity also contribute to public service. Over the last five years, Professor Wilson has displayed outstanding productivity in all categories of research output: authorship of books and journals, special issues, editor/series editor and conference presentations. His research and service activities positively impact the island’s unique biodiversity. Since 2009, he has earned over US$900,000 in local and international research funding; a total of about US$1.5 million since joining the Department in 2001.
The Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES),
Faculty of Science and Technology, Cave Hill Campus
The VC’s Departmental Award for Excellence
The Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) promotes and facilitates sustainable development in the Caribbean and beyond through graduate education; applied research in natural resource and environmental management; innovative and collaborative projects; professional training and building capacity of decision-makers; and involvement in the national, regional and global initiatives that shape the Caribbean’s future. It also provides advisory services to governments, non-governmental organisations and the private sector. |
