Director of the Office of Student Services at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Dr. Thelora Reynolds, has been selected as a Diamond Honoree of the Educational Leadership Foundation of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). The award recognizes her many contributions to higher education and to the association which is one of the largest and most prestigious national associations dedicated to student affairs and services on college campuses across the United States and the world.

Announcement of the award was made by the President of the Board of Trustees, Leila V. Moore, who noted that Dr. Reynolds was being honoured specifically for her vision and commitment as founder of the Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association (CTPLA), the first international division of ACPA, and for her service as its first president from 1997-1998.

The award will be presented to Dr. Reynolds at the Annual Diamond Honoree Reception of the Educational Leadership Foundation, ACPA’s research and fund-raising arm dedicated to supporting the association’s publications and research, which will be held in Nashville, Tennessee on April 4, 2005.

The American College Personnel Association is headquartered in Washington, DC at the National Centre for Higher Education. It is the leading student affairs Association that advances students affairs and engages students for a lifetime of learning and discovery. Founded in 1924, ACPA has nearly 8,000 members representing nearly 1,500 private and public institutions from across the United States and internationally.

The Diamond Honoree programme was established in 1999 to recognize higher education professionals, who, throughout their careers, have made outstanding contributions to higher education and to students and student affairs in particular.

Thelora Reynolds joined the staff of the UWI, Mona Campus in 1990 as Warden (now Student Services Manager) at Mary Seacole Hall of Residence and was appointed director of the Office of Student Services in 1996. She holds the Bachelor of Arts, MA and PhD in Education Administration, from the UWI and has also attended several advanced management training courses focusing on student values. She initiated the founding of the Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association (CTPLA), an international division of the American Personnel Association (ACPA) ad served as its founding president from 1997-1998. She also played a significant role in the development and implementation of the co-curricular transcript at the UWI and has spearheaded several initiatives aimed at improving the out-of-classroom learning experience for UWI students. In addition she played a major role in sensitizing Caribbean tertiary level institutions to the need for the formal delivery of qualitative learning in support of academic learning.

Dr. Reynolds is President Elect of the Caribbean Tertiary Personnel Association, Member of the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE), Member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and of the American College Personnel Association.