The University of the West Indies (UWI) says it will confer 12 honorary degrees during this years’ graduation ceremonies at its three campuses in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago in October.
“The UWI awards honorary degrees to individuals of eminence in the arts, sciences and other fields of intellectual endeavor, as well as to persons who have made outstanding regional or international contributions. The 2017 graduation ceremonies will see new Chancellor, Robert Bermudez presiding over the ceremonies and conferring degrees,” the UWI said.
Among those to be honored will Dame Selma Udine Jackman, who is known for being among the first Caribbean-born, female surgeons to have qualified and worked in the region.
She earned her MBBS degree at The UWI Mona Campus after being awarded a Barbados Government Exhibition and graduated in 1976. She will receive the Doctor of Sciences (DSc) degree.
“She returned to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Barbados) in 1986 and has provided general and pediatric surgery services to local and referred patients from other Caribbean islands.”
The UWI said it would also honor Guyanese born, Professor Emeritus John Edward Greene, who has just ended a six-year tenure as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV in the Caribbean.
“He has a long regional and international career in academia, social sector development, poverty alleviation, organizational development, and AIDS.”
Greene also served as Assistant Secretary-General at the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat from 2000-2010 and crafted the blueprint for the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS which was recognized in 2004 as an international best practice in the response to HIV/AIDS. He will receive an honorary degree in law.
Trinidadian Andrew Marcano has been described by the UWI as a person who “has always gone beyond the traditional path of calypsonians and chosen a multifaceted path” and is the first calypsonian to produce his own hit on his very own label (La Carib).
“For more than six decades, Mr. Marcano has embodied every aspect of the Calypso art form; a lyrical genius, brilliant musical composer, and producer, charismatic performer who is a master of extempore, a visionary and entrepreneur, a truly outstanding Trinidad and Tobago cultural icon.”
Marcano will receive a doctorate in literature (DLitt).
The UWI said it would also honour Professor Ihron Rensburg, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg, who is widely acknowledged for his policy, strategy, leadership, and managerial skills, with the Doctor of Laws degree as well as Wesley J. Hall, the executive chairman and founder of Kingsdale Advisors, a leader in shareholder advisory services and proxy solicitation in North America.
The graduation ceremonies will begin at the UWI’s Open Campus on October 14 and end at the Mona Campus in Jamaica on November 4.
