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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 1st NOVEMBER, 2015
HONOURS
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 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.
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)
Pro f e s s or Pat r i c i a Mohamme d l e ad s 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.
Seven Awards
for
Excellence
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
AssuranceUnit, andProfessor PatriciaMohammed, 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, andAll-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 theDepartment of Physics at theMona 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.
PROFESSOR SURENDRA ARJOON
Professor of Business and Professional Ethics. Head,
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 PremiumTeaching Award.
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 Cent re 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.
The UWI St. Augustine awardees with Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat (from left) Professor Surendra
Arjoon, Professor Patricia Mohammed, Campus Principal, Professor Sankat, Dr. Sandra Gift and Professor Hariharan Seetharaman.
For more about the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence, visit:
