The University of the West Indies (UWI) is pleased to announce the promotion of Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, Mona, Dr. Ian Boxill, to the position of Professor of Comparative Sociology.
Dr. Boxill holds the Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Sociology from the UWI, Cave Hill Campus, the Master of Philosophy degree in Social Sciences/Development Studies from the Consortium Graduate School of the Social Sciences at the UWI, Mona Campus and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Sociology from Colorado State University, USA.

He joined the staff of the UWI in 1992 as Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and was appointed Senior Lecturer in 2001. He earlier served as Research Fellow and Sustainable Tourism Coordinator at the UWI Centre for Environment and Development (UWICED) and Visiting Scholar/Lecturer at the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

Professor Boxill has gained international acclaim and respect for his pioneering work in the areas of the sociology of tourism, regional integration and culture and development. For example, in the area of tourism, he has produced a wide-ranging body of work, covering topics such as HIV/AIDS and tourism and the impact of crime on the tourist industry. He is a productive researcher who has also written extensively on topics related to Caribbean economic and political integration, Asian-Pacific societies, Jamaican social structure, race and ethnic relations, and economics and culture in the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific. This research output has enabled him to make a considerable contribution to the development of academic journals and has facilitated links between UWI and other universities in Mexico and the Pacific region.

In recognition of his outstanding academic achievement, in 2004 he was named joint recipient of the Principal’s Award for Best Publication in the Faculty of Social Sciences as well as the Principal’s Award (2002) for the research project attracting the most funds.

He has made a significant contribution as Head of the Department, contributing to its graduate programme through course development as well as coordinating the programme and supervising students at the Masters and Doctor of Philosophy levels. An innovative teacher, he has contributed to programme development especially as it relates to courses in research methods and the sociology of tourism.

Professor Boxill’s work with bodies such as the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Caribbean Maritime Institute point to a strong record of public service. He also serves as Associate Editor (Anglophone Caribbean) Revista Mexicana del Caribe, Mexico, and Consultant to CARICOM on the revision of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, with reference to Protocol Seven, in preparation for the introduction of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.