SUNDAY 1ST FEBRUARY, 2015 – UWI TODAY
19
OUR PEOPLE
but we need to work on showing that
applicability.
We at the Faculty know what we have to
do and we accept that responsibility. But
it can’t just be up to us. The university has
to understand as well – the importance
of new positions, the importance of
something like philosophy, how these
things deepen, not just the Humanities,
but every other faculty in The UWI.
The space we occupy is important.
Staff working in the Humanities must
feel valued. Therefore there has to be
investment in the Faculty in terms of
human resources and the nature of the
space.
JH:
What kind of challenges do you
anticipate?
HC:
I am practical. I’m a new dean. That is
always going to be a challenge. Two, I
am youngish. On a personal level I need
to find my space as dean. It’s one thing
to have people support you, the other
thing is that you have to deliver. I am
developing my own style of leadership.
I’m not confrontational. I don’t think it
helps anything. I think we have too much
confrontation and negativity. I have no
intention of joining that game. But I
have to develop my space; where you
are respected for the quality of what you
do and not how loud you speak or the
contacts you have. My approach is going
to be simply – work hard. I intend to work
extremely hard. I intend to respect others
and I intend to focus on the issues and not
get side-tracked. I intend to take advice.
I have a former dean whose support is
there even though he is determined not
to interfere (laugh). I have my colleagues.
I don’t think I can do it all alone. I think
my biggest challenge is me (smile) in the
context of who I am in the deanship right
now.
JH:
At the end of your tenure, what would
you like your legacy to be? What is your
most ambitious vision?
HC:
I would like every organisation and
institution in Trinidad and Tobago and
the region, when they are working on a
policy paper, you think “hold on, there
are relevant resources in Humanities
and Education”. I would like them to
understand what the faculty has to offer
– Linguistics, History, Literature, Creative
Arts and Education – these are not just
things people enjoy and do casually.
We have significant contributions to our
society. At the end of it all I would like to
position this Faculty to be a major player
in the development of the university, T&T
and the region. That is what I would like
my legacy to be.
A whirlwind visit by
His Excellency Takashi Uto,
Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Japan, on January 10, resulted in an interesting and
promising conversation between members of his
delegation, which included His Excellency Yoshimasa
Tezuka, Ambassador of Japan, and UWI officials at the
St. Augustine campus.
The Vice Minister conveyed the interest of
the Government of Japan to encourage greater
collaboration in higher education with the Caribbean
and pointed to the Japan-CARICOM Friendship
Year (2014) as a basis for this. He issued an invitation
to all the UWI campus principals to visit Japanese
universities and it was agreed that further discussions
with the Japanese Ambassador would work out details
for these and reciprocal visits.
Along with Campus Registrar, Richard Saunders,
andDirector of theOffice of Institutional Advancement
and Internationalisation, Sharan Singh, were Deans
Indar Ramnarine, Brian Copeland, Isaac Bekele and
Haricharan Seetharaman (representing the Faculty of
Medical Sciences).
His Excellency Takashi Uto, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan presents a gift to Director of the Office of
Institutional Advancement and Internationalisation, Sharan Singh, while Campus Registrar, Richard Saunders looks on. The
UWI presented the Vice Minister with a steelpan replica during the brief visit to the campus on January 10.
The conve r s at i on touched on pos s ibl e
collaborations in areas such as disaster preparedness
and management, science and technology, medical
technology, food (science, processing and technology)
and technology transfer (commercialization of IP).
Mr Singh indicated that it would be ultimately
desirable to see students and staff from Japan and
the Caribbean conducting visits, exchanges and
collaborations but that the universities need to begin
to develop institutional collaborations as the precursor
to this.
TheViceMinisteralsorevealedthathehasproposed
to the CARICOM Secretariat the establishment of a
Scholarship Fund for Caribbean students to study in
Japan.The ViceMinister’s entourage also includedMr.
Daisuke Ichikawa, Secretary to the Parliamentary Vice
Minister, Ms. Mika Suzuki, Political Adviser, Embassy
of Japan, Trinidad and Tobago and Mr. Jiro Kodera,
Translator. After their discussions, and an exchange
of gifts, the party was due to fly off to Panama and
Washington, DC.
Japan comes calling
“it would be ultimately desirable to see students and
staff from Japan and the Caribbean conducting visits,
exchanges and collaborations”
