Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan, Professor of Child Health, Child Development and Behaviour, Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Child Health has been named one of the five recipients of the prestigious Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence for 2010. Professor Samms-Vaughan will be recognized for her Contribution to Public Service. The award for the prestigious Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence for the academic year 2009/2010 will be presented at a special ceremony to be held on October 21, 2010 at the Cave Hill Campus.  The Awards will be presented by the Vice Chancellor.

The recipients at the St Augustine Campus are Professor John Agard, Professor of Tropical Island Ecology and Head, Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of  Science and Agriculture, for All-round Performance in the combined areas of Research Accomplishments  and Contribution to Public Service, Dr Kusha Haraksingh, Senior Lecturer, Department of History, Faculty of Humanities and Education for Contribution to Public Service,  and  Dr Dave Chadee, Senior Lecturer in Parasitology, Department of Life Sciences, for Research Accomplishments. The other recipient from the Cave Hill Campus is Professor Clive Landis, Professor in Cardiovascular Research, Chronic Disease Research Centre, for Research Accomplishments.

Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan is considered an ambassador for the University in the area of child development and is a significant contributor to public service. She was on secondment to the Government of Jamaica for two years as Executive Chairman of the National Early Childhood Commission, a position she served with distinction. She has published two books entitled The Jamaican Pre-School Child: the Status of Early Childhood Development in Jamaica and Cognition, Educational Attainment and Behaviour in a cohort of Jamaican Children at age 11-12 years. These books have become reference texts used as policy guides in the Ministries of Health and Education in Jamaica.  Professor Samms-Vaughan has authored and published over 58 research papers and abstracts in peer-reviewed journals.  Her research has attracted significant amounts of grant funding to the University of the West Indies. The quality of her research accomplishments has been recognised internationally, demonstrated by her election as Editor or Consulting Editor of scholarly journals such as International Journal of Early Years Education, Children’s Issues Coalition Journal and Caribbean Journal of Psychology.

Professor Samms-Vaughan’s contribution to non-governmental organisations has been diverse and extensive.  She has been a consultant and an advisor to the Jamaica Attention Deficit Disorder Association since 1998 and has served as consultant advisor to UNICEF and PAHO.  Professor Samms-Vaughan has served her community through her service on the Boards of Vaz Preparatory School, The Queen’s High School and Family Life Ministries. For her exemplary public service she was in 2007 awarded the Jamaican National Honour, Commander of the Order of Distinction for service in the field of Early Childhood Development and Child Health.