SUNDAY 2 JUNE 2019 – UWI TODAY
5
CAMPUS NEWS
The annual business meeting of University Council
convened on Friday, April 26 at the Teaching and Learning
Complex, The UWI St Augustine Campus.
This meeting, chaired by Chancellor Robert Bermudez,
was attended by representatives of all of the contributing
governments, and dealt with a number of matters
including reports on the feasibility of the proposal for
a fourth landed campus in Antigua and Barbuda, the
establishment of a UWI Trust Fund, the appointment of a
new Visitor for The UWI and several new senior executive
appointments, endorsement of recommendations for the
award of honorary degrees and progress report on year
one implementation of the University’s Triple A Strategy
(Strategic Plan 2017-2022).
The opening session was one of the major highpoints
of this meeting of the University Council. It featured the
comprehensive report by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Sir Hilary Beckles. Entitled “Our Reputation Revolution:
Promoting the Post IMF Caribbean Renaissance”, the
report highlighted some of the key successes and milestone
achievementsof theUniversity inthe reportingyear2017-2018.
Among these were the advancement of the University’s
global reputation and reach across five continents, and the
hemispheric and international validation demonstrated in
the recentWorld Rankings by the Times Higher Education.
Vice-Chancellor Beckles also spent some time emphasising
The UWI’s next phase and its planning for posterity. He
noted, “our stakeholders’ expectation is that the University
will intellectually craft the future in a fashion that will
impact everyday life across the region. The call is for a
precise and intense alignment of public and sectorial desires
with our capacity to generate their actualisation.”
In its closed session, themeeting of Council considered
a diverse range of matters. Among themwas the decision to
replace the Crown as the Visitor.This follows the November
2018 approval by the Privy Council to have this position
filled by an eminent jurist from within the Caribbean
region. A key role of the Visitor is to settle UWI disputes
with staff or students. The University Council accepted the
proposal to appoint Justice Rolston Nelson to the position
with effect from May 1, 2019.
The Council also considered the recommendation
from the University Finance and General Purposes
Committee on the Report of the Technical Taskforce—
presented by Co-Chairs, Pro Vice-Chancellors Alan Cobley
and Densil Williams—on the proposal to establish a fourth
landed campus of The UWI in Antigua and Barbuda. The
governments of the campus countries were given time to
consider the proposal, and their submissions will be heard
at the next meeting of the University Finance and General
Purposes Committee, scheduled for May 30, 2019 at Cave
Hill, Barbados.
The possibility of a tuition fee increase for the St
Augustine Campus will also be a topic of consideration
at the meeting. Council also approved the establishment
New campus, appointment of Visitor and UWI Trust
Fund discussed at University Council Meeting 2019
of a UWI Trust Fund as a longer term solution to provide
a source of revenue to reduce the existing funding gap of
roughly US$70 million annually. The intent, as articulated
by the University Grants Committee Chair and Prime
Minister of Barbados, the Honourable Mia Mottley, is “to
use the interest from the Fund to help sustain aspects of
its operations with a view of keeping fees at an affordable
level for Caribbean students.”
The University Council is the highest governing body
of The UWI with powers as prescribed in the University’s
Statute 20. It is constituted in accordance with Statute 18
and consequently the decision-making authority onmatters
such as appointments, the management of the finances, and
all business affairs of the University.
Chancellor Robert Bermudez (right) addresses those in attendance while
University Registrar C William Iton looks on. Iton’s successor in the University
Registrar post, Dr Maurice Smith, was appointed at the meeting.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles
PHOTOS: ANEEL KARIM
