Principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus Sir Hilary Beckles has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of UWI with effect from May 1, 2015.
Sir Hilary will succeed Prof E. Nigel Harris who has been Vice-Chancellor since October 1, 2004.
According to a press release from the UWI, an extraordinary meeting of University Council convened
and accepted the report from the search committee which had been established to identify a new Vice-Chancellor. The council agreed to appoint Beckles.
The release said that according to Chair of the Search Committee Dr Marshall Hall, the advertisement for the post attracted in excess of 50 applicants from all over the world. The search committee eventually came up with an initial shortlist 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.
UWI Chancellor Sir George Alleyne, in congratulating Sir Hilary, noted that he would be the seventh Vice-Chancellor. He was confident that Sir Hilary would have the confidence and support of the University’s many and diverse stakeholders.
The release said Beckles is well known regionally and extra-regionally. 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, it was stated, he currently serves as a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Science Advisory Board on Sustainable Development, Chairman 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.
The release noted too that 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.
