The Department of Literatures in English at UWI, Mona will pay tribute to Dr. Victor Chang, for the distinguished and dedicated service as a lecturer, administrator, and academic who has served the Department and the University for thirty-two years. He will be recognized on Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 6 pm at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts.

Dr. Chang has served on several committees during his tenure, and at various periods sat on high–level bodies within the University as University Council, Campus Council, Senate, Academic Board, and Finance and General Purposes Committee.

He has also made an important contribution to the body of scholarly work on West Indian literature having published a number of essays, articles and book chapters on the subject. Dr. Chang was a major force behind the continued publication of the highly regarded Journal of West Indian Literature (JWIL), the primary outlet for academics writing on Caribbean literature. He worked with JWIL for over 20 years, first as Co-Editor from 1987-2002 and then as Chief Editor from 2002-2009. From 1990-1994 he served on the Executive of the University of the West Indies Publisher’s Association, a position in which he further facilitated the publication of scholarly work. Dr. Chang is also a former Co-Editor of CARIB, and was a Guest Editor of the Caribbean Quarterly issue “The Chinese in the Caribbean”, and Kunapipi XIV.2 (1992). Importantly, he also helped provide a much needed outlet for writers of fiction and poetry during his 25-year stint as Editor of Pathways, a journal of creative writing.

Dr. Chang’s academic career is characterized by involvement with the wider community and beyond having served as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Hull, England in 1981, carried out assignments with the Ministry of Education in Jamaica and Jamaica Festival. For some 20 years he was a contributor to the National Association for Teachers of English Workshops and was Assistant Chief Examiner in English Literature with the Caribbean Examinations Council from 1987-1992. He has also given record service to the West Indian Association for Commonwealth Language and Literature Studies (WIACLALS), serving as Chairman from 1994-2006, as Secretary and Treasurer from 2007-2009, and as Secretary from 1981-1992, a total period of 25 years.

The university community, colleagues, students-past and present- are especially invited to join on this occasion.