The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona will recognize five Caribbean icons at its Graduation ceremonies November 4 and 5.  They are: Ms. Minna Israel, Mr. Earl Jarrett and The Hon. Usain Bolt who will all receive the Honorary Doctor of Laws ( LLD) while Professor Lenworth Jacobs and Dr. Erna Brodber will receive the Doctor of Sciences (DSc) and Doctor of Letters (DLitt) respectively.
 
On Friday November 4 at 5:30 pm The Honourable Usain Bolt and Dr. Erna Brodber, will be conferred with honorary degrees along with graduates from the Faculties of Humanities and Education and Pure and Applied Sciences. The Hon. Usain Bolt  is an outstanding Jamaican sprinter known for his amazing performance in men’s athletics. He won three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m events and set  new world records at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and at the 2009 World Championships. Among his many accolades is his induction into the society of the Order of Jamaica (OJ) (2009), by the Government of Jamaica, for outstanding distinction in the field of Sports; and in 2008, he also received the National Honour, the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander for outstanding service to Jamaica. In 2009, Bolt was also conferred with the diplomatic title ‘Ambassador-at-Large’.
 
 
Internationally, Bolt was voted the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) Male Athlete of the Year (2009, 2008); and, was one of two Jamaicans named for the 2009 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) Champion for Sports Award.
 
Jamaican author Dr. Erna Brodber has used her writings to offer a measure of healing to those with untold stories. Dr. Brodber earned her BA from The University of the West Indies when it was still The University College of the West Indies. She immersed herself  in academia and went on to attain an MSc and PhD. Dr. Brodber pursued many other professions before focusing on writing and was a member of staff at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the Mona Campus, Jamaica. While at ISER she worked to collect the oral histories of elders in rural Jamaica, a project that would later inspire her novel Louisiana. Encounters with the Black Power Movement and Women’s Liberation coupled with her early familial indoctrination to the importance of family have caused Dr. Brodber to pen novels that deal with the healing power of community.
 
At the Ceremony to be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 5, Ms. Minna Israel and Professor Lenworth Jacobs will be conferred with honorary degrees along with the graduates in the Faculties of Medical Sciences, Law and Engineering. A career banker, Ms. Minna Israel was appointed President and Country Head of RBTT Bank Jamaican Limited in January, 2008. Prior to her appointment at RBTT Ms. Israel spent numerous years as an executive of the Bank of Nova Scotia in The Bahamas and Jamaica. Her performance and contribution to the wider society have earned her a number of awards including The American Foundation for The University of the West Indies (AFUWI) Caribbean Luminary Award for her significant contribution to banking in the Caribbean and the University of Technology, Jamaican (UTECH) Distinguished Alumni Award. She holds a Master’s of Business Administration in Finance and General Management from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a BSc in Management Studies from The University of the West Indies. She is a member of The UWI Vice Chancellor’s Award selection team and The University of the West Indies’ Capital Development Taskforce. 
 
Professor Lenworth Jacobs received his medical degree at The University of the West Indies. He completed his surgical residency in Boston at the Peter Brigham Hospital and the Boston University Medical Center. He then received a Master's degree in Public Health at Harvard University. He is a past President of the American Trauma Society, Governor of the American College of Surgeons, Founder and past President of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. Professor Jacobs is also the Founder and National Director of the Advanced Trauma Operative Management (ATOM) course. More than 1,200 surgeons have been certified by ATOM across the US, Canada, the Middle East and West Africa.
 
Professor Jacobs has made more that 200 presentations across the world and has more than 180 publications. He has been conferred with The West African College of Surgeons Honorary Fellow in 2007; The American College of Surgeons Fellowship, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, National Safety Council 2005 Surgeons’ Award for Service to Safety; and the American Trauma Society President’s Award in 2004.
 
 
Mr. Earl Jarrett, will be conferred with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) at the 5:30 pm Ceremony on November 5 as graduates from the Faculty of Social Sciences are awarded their degrees. He will be recognized for his sterling contribution to banking in Jamaica. Mr. Jarrett holds both a BSc and an MSc in Accounting and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica. He has been the General Manager of the Jamaican National Building Society (JNBS) since 1999, and has also held leadership positions at the International Union of Housing Finance, the Dudley Grant Memorial Trust and has been a Board Advisor to the Inter-American Dialogue Financial Services.
 
 
The Mona graduation ceremonies conclude the UWI’s recognition of outstanding Caribbean citizens.  The celebrations began on October 15 with the Open Campus Graduation  in Antigua, where Dame Pearlette Louisy, Governor-General of St. Lucia and Mr. Alwin Bully, Cultural Administrator received the honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) and Doctor of Letters (DLitt) degrees respectively.
 
Graduation ceremonies at the Cave Hill Campus in Barbados claimed the spotlight on October 22, when The Most Rev. Dr. The Hon. John W. D. Holder and Professor Compton Bourne received the honorary LLD and Professor Kwesi Prah, Professor Emeritus Keith A. P. Sandiford the honorary DLitt. Dr. Shirley Brathwaite was conferred with the honorary Doctor of Sciences (DSc) degree.
 
The celebrations moved to the St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad, from October 27 to 29, where the honorary LLD was conferred on Mrs. Helen Bhagwansingh, Professor Anantanand Rambachan, Mr. John Reginald Dumas, Sir Fenton H. Ramsahoye, Mr. Brian Charles Lara and Ambassador Kamaluddin Mohammed, while Mr. Donald ‘Jackie’ Hinkson and Mr. Roy Cape received the honorary DLitt.