 |
 |
 |
|
September-October 2010
|
My warmest congratulations are extended to the entire team at the St. Augustine Campus as they celebrate its 50th Anniversary. Principal Professor Clement Sankat and Deputy Principal Professor Rhoda Reddock and their colleagues are to be highly commended for the wonderful programme of events that has been arranged to commemorate this very special anniversary. As we celebrate, we should also take the time to reflect on the remarkable journey that began with the transition in 1960 from the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture. That history is told in a book by Professor Bridget Brereton, herself a former Deputy Principal of the campus, and I commend the book, From Imperial College to University of the West Indies: A History of the St Augustine Campus, Trinidad & Tobago, to each of you as a wonderful read. The St. Augustine Campus now boasts the largest enrolment among our four campuses. This is a significant achievement, but it also brings challenges of infrastructure and human resources to support that enrolment. The Principal and his team have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that the hallmark of quality is maintained in the provision of all services on the campus and I have every confidence that they will meet that promise. The campus is the southernmost point of the University’s geographical reach and, together with its sister campuses Cave Hill in Barbados, Mona in Jamaica and the Open Campus serving all sixteen contributing countries, they afford The University of the West Indies its unique regional character. This organic structure allows for creative ways to infuse regionality into our teaching, our co-curricular and teaching programmes and to use information technologies to create a single virtual university space in which each member of the community will have access to resources from any point within the region. Over the 50 years of its existence, the St. Augustine Campus has produced many thousands of graduates who have gone on to be leaders in their respective fields of endeavour. Our faculty members have produced research that has been impactful at the national, regional and international levels and has brought much acclaim to the regional University. Our contributing Governments have also been very supportive and I thank the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, past and present for its ongoing support for our University. To our dedicated faculty and staff, to our alumni who continue to support us, to our current student body to whom we look for great things in the future, I say a hearty thank you. You are the collective heart and soul of our regional University and together we must continue to shape the future of our region. –Professor E. Nigel Harris |
