Dear Colleagues,

I am happy to advise that plans are well under way for the official opening of our Five Islands Campus in St. John’s, Antigua. The establishment of our fourth landed campus, and the fifth campus of The UWI, is a matter of great pride for us all. It provides a development platform for countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and expands The UWI’s regional capacity to deliver higher education for the 21st century.

The Five Islands Campus began operations on August 25, 2019 and offers a suite of programmes across three schools: Health and Behavioural Sciences; Humanities and Education; Management, Sciences and Technology.  Students from the Antigua State College, enrolled in The UWI Franchise Programme, are automatically absorbed in this first cohort as continuing students.

Yesterday I paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Gaston Browne at the Office of the Prime Minister and later met with senior officials in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology as well as other stakeholders, including the Antigua and Barbuda media. Discussions specifically focussed on the way forward for this new campus based on the work mapped out and advanced via the Implementation Committee.

My sincere thanks and congratulations to the many individuals and groups who have worked so hard to bring this valuable and promising element of The UWI’s infrastructure into being: those who first posited the idea in 2017 and the members of the University Council and the University Finance and General Purposes Committee who delivered the final approvals earlier this year.

I wish to officially welcome Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Five Islands Campus, Professor Stafford Griffith, who will hold this position from August 15, 2019 to July 31, 2020. Professor Griffith will steer our newest campus during its first year of operations, while formal searches are made to permanently fill this position in addition to those of other substantive senior administrative posts such as Director of Academic Affairs and Director of Finance and Administration.

I thank the members of the Institutional Oversight Steering Committee, headed by Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Mona Campus, Professor Dale Webber, and comprising all Pro Vice-Chancellors and Principals as well as the Ministers of Education of the governments of Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda.

I acknowledge with deep appreciation the ongoing work of the Implementation Committee, led by Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Open Campus, Dr. Luz Longsworth and co-chaired first by Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Cobley and then by Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Clive Landis. Over the next year, this committee will continue to provide guidance to Principal Griffith and the Campus’ core operational team on the development plan outlined by the Technical Task Force. These areas include academic affairs, facilities, IT and physical infrastructure, library, governance and legal framework.

Formal launch activities include a public ecumenical service at the St. John’s Cathedral on September 1, followed by the ceremonial opening of the Five Islands Campus on September 3.  Dignitaries attending will include Antigua and Barbuda’s Governor General Sir Rodney Williams and Prime Minister Browne. As usual, these milestone events will be available for livestream viewing on UWItv at https://uwitv.org. I encourage you all to tune in and be a part of yet another historical UWI moment.

I am sure you share my excitement and positivity when I reflect on this great step forward for the University. This campus is the physical embodiment of our aspirations for the future of the OECS and our 21st century university.

Thank you all for the part you have played in this achievement.

Professor Sir Hilary Beckles

Vice-Chancellor