 |
 |
 |
|
September 2016 |
Members of the Council of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) approved 11 honorary degrees to be awarded at the University’s 2016 graduation ceremonies. The ceremonies are expected to kick off at the Open Campus in St Kitts and Nevis on 8 October, followed by the Cave Hill Campus in Barbados on 15 October, the St Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago on 20-22 October and will conclude with the Mona Campus in Jamaica on 28-29 October. The decision to confer the degrees was confirmed at the annual meeting of The UWI’s University Council held earlier this year. The Council awards honorary degrees to persons of eminence in the arts and sciences or other fields of intellectual endeavour, or persons who have made outstanding regional or international contributions. These honorary degrees are traditionally presented by UWI Chancellor, Sir George Alleyne during the annual graduation ceremonies. Of the 11 persons to be conferred this year, one will be at the Open Campus graduation ceremony, four at the Cave Hill Campus ceremonies, and three at the St Augustine Campus and Mona campus ceremonies respectively. The recipients are as follows: OPEN CAMPUS (8 October, 2016)
CAVE HILL CAMPUS (15 October, 2016)
ST AUGUSTINE CAMPUS (20-22 October, 2016)
MONA CAMPUS (28-29 October)
HONORARY GRADUANDS 2016Professor KE Bingsheng – DLitt
Professor Bingsheng has received several national awards for his contributions to agricultural and rural development policy research in China. He is the Vice President of the Chinese Association of Agricultural Economists, Vice Chair of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Science Committee, and a member of the Degree Awarding Committee of the State Council. Under his direct leadership, the St Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies and the China Agricultural University developed a strategic relationship, beginning with the opening of a Confucius Institute in 2013 at the Campus. His commitment to The UWI and to furthering the educational, cultural and social bonds between China and Trinidad and Tobago has been further demonstrated with the establishment of an Agricultural Innovation Park at the Faculty of Food and Agriculture in Orange Grove. The work in this area will have a profound impact upon the food security, health and wellbeing of the peoples of Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean. Reverend Daniel Teelucksingh – LLD
Reverend Teelucksingh’s formal training and education include studies at the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI) in Jamaica from 1963 to 1967. He also became ordained a minister of religion in 1967. In 1970 he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the University of London International, followed by a Master of Sacred Theology degree from the Union Theological Seminary in New York, USA in 1974 and then returned to Trinidad and Tobago to continue his service. A decade of Reverend Teelucksingh’s career was also spent as an Independent Senator in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago from 1991-2001. During this time he served on numerous parliamentary committees and became known for being vociferous on matters pertaining to family life such as domestic violence, sexual offences and women’s and children’s rights. Reverend Teelucksingh has also worked as a motivational speaker, teacher and lecturer and his work has earned him a number of awards including the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago - National Award for Public Service, Medal of Merit, Gold and an award for community service from the Inter-religious Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago. Mr Anthony Williams – DLitt
In 1968 Pan Am North Stars joined with Trinidad and Tobago’s internationally celebrated pianist, Winifred Atwell, in a series of performances locally, in the Bahamas and at Madison Square Garden in New York. By placing bass pans on wheels, he made it possible for the road band to remain mobile and perform full orchestral arrangements. Six decades ago he was emphasising the importance of music literacy for all pannists and, though self-taught, established classes in his North Stars panyard. In recognition of his experience and competence, Mr Williams was made a member of the first steelpan technology research team at the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute. He has been recognised by the National Institute of Higher Education Research Science and Technology (NIHERST) as a Caribbean icon and was awarded the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the nation’s highest award in 2008. |
Professor KE Bingsheng, President of the China Agricultural University, earned his BSc from Peking University, his MSc in Economics from Beijing Agricultural University (now China Agricultural University) and his PhD in Agronomy from the University of Hohenheim in Germany. He has a long record of research accomplishments on issues related to agricultural policy and rural development. He is author or co-author of 12 books and his publications include some 100 papers in Chinese journals and 30 in international journals and proceedings of international conferences.
Reverend Daniel Teelucksingh is a former Chaplain at The UWI, St Augustine Campus. He w orked at the campus during the 1970s and has spent a total of 48 years serving as a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad and Tobago.
Mr Anthony Williams is, perhaps, the most significant contributor to the development of the technology of the steelpan musical instrument and the associated art in performance, because of his triple role as an inventor, arranger, and steel orchestra captain. In the 1950s, Mr Williams invented the 4ths-and-5ths note layout pattern, now standard on the tenor steelpan and the basis of the note layouts on three of the four G-pans invented at The UWI in 2007. The pattern was first used on his spider-web pan, which he tuned so that the anti-clockwise sequence of notes around any given ring, assumes a progression of musical 5ths while the note sequence along a sector defined by two adjacent radii produces a progression of musical octaves. His inventions were all music-driven and came during his tenure as captain, musical director and tuner of the Pan Am North Stars Steel Orchestra. This steelband was the first to appear on US nationwide television (the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964); the first to transpose music for symphonic orchestras into steelband scores (Johann Strauss’s Voices of Spring in the 1962 Trinidad and Tobago Music Festival) which set the template for steelband arrangements for years to come.