Vincentian Graduates attend historic ceremony in St.Lucia

Eleven graduates of the University of the West Indies Open Campus in St.Vincent and the Grenadines were among 167 students from 12 Caribbean countries who attended the historic first graduation ceremony of the University of the West Indies Open Campus held in St.Lucia last Saturday, October 17th.{{more}}

The Vincentians were among 55 students who graduated from the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Open Campus at the end of the 2008-2009 academic year. In the group that went to St.Lucia were two students who secured First Class Honours in the Bachelor of Education Literacy Studies programme. They are Hannah Joycelyn Browne and Elspeth Gale Ann Adams Latchman. Another Vincentian Bernadine Neverson also obtained a First Class Honours degree, Bachelor of Education (Literacy Studies)

The total number of Open Campus graduates from 15 Caribbean countries was 700. The Valedictory address was delivered by Denise Gordon of Montserrat who obtained First Class Honours in the Bachelor of Science, Management Studies Programme. Gordon was given a standing ovation for a truly impressive address.

Honorary Doctorate degrees were awarded to Dr. Peggy Antrobus and the Honourable Dunstan St. Omer. Peggy Antrobus, who was the wife of Dr. Ken Antrobus (now deceased) was born in Grenada, but attended school in St.Vincent from where she obtained an Island Scholarship. She worked for a time with Government and with NGO programmes in this country and was the coordinator of the Women and Development Unit (WAND), a unit of the UWI School of Continuing Studies, based in Barbados. She holds a Ph.D in Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree.

Dunstan St. Omer is St.Lucia’s leading artist, some of his works having received international acclaim. He is recognized as the Caribbean’s leading Church muralist, and received a papal medal for his outstanding work in Church murals, having painted murals in churches in St.Lucia, Martinique, Dominica and other countries. He designed St.Lucia’s national flag and is the recipient of St.Lucia’s national award, the St.Lucia Cross. In 2007, he was acclaimed a national cultural hero by the Jubilee Trust Fund in collaboration with the Folk Research Centre and the Cultural Development Foundation. The Honourable Dunstan St. Omer was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree. (DLITT) and delivered the Graduation Address.

The UWI Open Campus, St.Vincent and the Grenadines, extends congratulations to all graduates.