UWIAA (UWI Alumni Association) Bahamas Chapter will welcome the outgoing Vice Chancellor and Mrs. Nigel Harris on the occasion of an official visit to The Bahamas this week. During this visit, the Local UWI Alumni Association Chapter will host the Vice Chancellor and his wife to a reception to be held at the local “UWI House Restaurant”, Tucker Road, Thompson Boulevard, in the COB/UWI Bahamas Tourism Training Centre, on Saturday, April 11th at 6:30 p.m. In attendance and to give remarks will be, the Honorable Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Jerome Fitzgerald M.P. Also in attendance will be the Hon Minister of Foreign Affairs & Immigration, Mr. Fred Mitchell MP and Mr. Patrick Hanlan, Jamaican Honorary Consul to The Bahamas. Other senior government officials and other leading professionals of the UWI alumni body will attend. The general public is invited to attend.
The group photo above of alumni from the Organizing Committee for Vice Chancellor’s visit includes (from Left to Right): Dr. Ketroya Oliver, Justice Rhonda Bain (Treasurer), Mrs. Michelle Sears, Dr. Mortimer Moxey (Acting President), Mr. Audirio Sears, Mrs. Troy Oliver (Secretary) and Dr. Tony Frankson.
During his time in office, over the last ten years, Vice Chancellor Nigel Harris chartered a blazing course of growth and transformation for The UWI. He was previously Dean and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1996-2004. Professor Harris also graduated magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa from Howard University, with a degree in Chemistry, then received a Master of Philosophy degree in Biochemistry at Yale University. He earned his MD degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978, and then returned to the Caribbean where he completed his residency in internal medicine at the UWI at Mona and was awarded the post-graduate degree, Doctor of Medicine (DM). In 1983, he went to the Hammersmith Hospital in London to do a fellowship in Rheumatology.
The UWI under this Vice Chancellor’s watch has seen growth in the enrolment which has more than doubled, reaching approximately 50,000 – large by any global measure. This has been accompanied by growth in the number of students achieving both undergraduate and graduate degrees – a total of 9,000 to 10,000 annually. Applications have also doubled to approximately 30,000 annually and about half of these are admitted. This growth has been supported by the expansion of physical facilities on all campuses - in excess of 500,000 square feet, and exponential growth in ICT support and electronic library resources. Revenues have doubled largely due to growth in non-governmental institutional initiatives. Heightened attentiveness to teaching quality and other quality assurance modalities have maintained high standards despite the growth in student numbers.
Additionally, dozens of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes have been introduced; many designed to meet workforce needs in the region and global workplace.
During this VC’s 10-year tenure, the launch of the Open Campus in 2008 occurred which provides on-line degree and professional programmes to students anywhere in the Caribbean, with particular attention to UWI-14 countries, namely countries without residential campuses. Enrolment in Open Campus degree programmes exceeds 6,000 students and it is anticipated that these numbers will grow exponentially with the introduction of videostreaming to create virtual classrooms. The award of a multi-million dollar grant to the Open Campus from the Canadian Government makes the possibility of programme expansion by distance, a reality.
The UWI has received more and larger research awards primarily from international funding agencies, several of which address regional issues such as marine studies, issues of sustainability in small island states, agriculture and food security, chronic non-communicable diseases, HIV/AIDS, disaster risk reduction, bio-safety, renewable energy and other topics. “Some of these grants”, Vice-Chancellor Harris said, “enabled The UWI to link with many regional and international universities – some 150 universities in 50 countries.
Particular attention will continue to be placed on areas of research that can contribute to regional development and on innovative research ideas that can be commercialized. The UWI has more than 25 patents; some of which can possibly be transformed into gainful industries.” There has also been an expansion in international linkages, especially with Latin America, Europe, China, Africa and India. Visibility has grown as evidenced by the election of administrative and academic staff as well as student representatives to leadership posts in several international bodies. In the last few years, both Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos have become members of The UWI family and its presence is being courted in countries like Haiti and San Andrés Island. Alumni engagement has significantly increased, with generous support from organisations such as the American Foundation for The UWI, the British Foundation for The UWI and the Canadian Gala Committee The Vice-Chancellor notes that financial stability is a major challenge, bearing in mind this economically challenging time for Caribbean governments. While university revenues have nearly doubled in the last decade, largely through the efforts of the campuses to grow nongovernmental revenues, the economic travails of many contributing countries in the wake of the global economic collapse in 2008 has resulted in arrears in payment by regional Governments.
Join The Bahamas in welcoming this giant of a man to our waters! For more information contact Acting President UWIAA, Dr. Mortimer Moxey, ph. 4235965.
