Sir Hilary Beckles to serve as next Vice-Chancellor of UWI

Sir Hilary Beckles will be appointed as the next vice-chancellor of the University with effect from May 1, 2015.

An Extraordinary Meeting of University Council, convened pursuant to Statue 22 paragraph 5, presided over by the Chancellor of the University, accepted the report from the Search Committee established to identify a new vice-chancellor and agreed on Sir Hilary’s appointment.{{more}}

A release from the University of the West Indies said the chair of the Search Committee Dr Marshall Hall noted that the advertisement for the post attracted in excess of 50 applicants from all over the world and the Search Committee eventually came up with an initial short-list of seven, which was eventually whittled down to three candidates who were invited to be interviewed. As a result of the interview and subsequent discussions, the Committee arrived at a consensus on Sir Hilary as the preferred candidate. The Council expressed its gratitude to Dr Hall and the Committee for the efficient and expeditious manner in which their work was carried out.

Chancellor Sir George Alleyne, in congratulating Sir Hilary, noted that he would be the seventh vice-chancellor. He would bring to the position impeccable academic credentials, impressive managerial skills and the gravitas that such an office required. He was confident that Sir Hilary would have the confidence and support of the University’s many and diverse stakeholders.

Sir Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor designate, is well known regionally and extra-regionally and as principal of the Cave Hill Campus, is currently the longest serving campus principal. He has a distinguished record of achievement and service as a university administrator, economic historian and specialist in higher education and development thinking and practice. At the international level he currently serves as a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Science Advisory Board on Sustainable Development, chair of the Caribbean Reparations Commission, vice-president of the International Task Force for the UNESCO Slave Route, adviser to the UN World Culture Report inter alia. He is the recipient of many honours, awards and honorary degrees and serves on the Boards of several of the region’s largest corporations.

Sir Hilary is an avid lover of cricket, was an accomplished cricketer in his youth, has written extensively on the subject and served on the WICB for many years. He is married to Mary, a Jamaican (nee Motta) and they have two sons.

The UWI, in the release congratulated Sir Hilary and said it looks forward to his stewardship of this regional institution.