THE UWI Open Campus Saint Lucia in collaboration with the University of the West Indies Press will on Wednesday 18th July, 2018 host the book launch of The Grooming of a Chancellor by Chancellor Emeritus of the UWI, Sir George Alleyne. The launch forms part of a series of events being held across the region to mark the 70th Anniversary of The University of the West Indies
The Grooming of a Chancellor is Sir George Alleyne’s autobiography. With his signature charm, Sir George recounts his experiences from primary and secondary school in racially divided Barbados, to gaining a Barbados Scholarship to study medicine at the University College of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica. He remained at The UWI for many years where he enjoyed a stellar academic career with prolific research output. He became a Professor of medicine and had an enduring impact on generations of students.
Sir George would later enter the field of international health through the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), of which he became Director – the first Caribbean national and Non-Latin to do so. He had a strong commitment to and was active in Caribbean health, especially HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and control. In 2003, Sir George returned to The University of the West Indies, as Chancellor, and for fourteen years executed the functions of that office in a manner that enhanced the public persona of his alma mater.
His has been a remarkable journey, one he shares with readers through his memories and personal reflections.
The book launch will be held in the Conference Room of the Finance Administrative Centre, Pointe Seraphine at 6:00 p.m. Copies of the book will be available for purchase
The public is invited to attend this FREE event
Sir George Alleyne, a native of Barbados is a medical graduate of the University of the West Indies (UWI) where he subsequently pursued an academic career.
He worked under Professor John Waterlow in the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit at UWI on the pathophysiology of infant malnutrition and on several aspects of renal intermediary metabolism.
He was appointed Professor of Medicine in UWI in 1972 and chair of the Department of Medicine in 1976.
He joined the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1981, became Director on 1 February 1995 and after re-election in 1998, completed a second four-year term on 31 January 2003.
In 2003 he was elected Director Emeritus of PAHO. From February 2003 until December 2010 he was the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.
From 2003 to 2017 he was Chancellor of the University of the West Indies and was a visiting professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University also from 2003 to 2017.
Sir George has received numerous awards in recognition of his work, including honorary degrees and prestigious decorations and national honors from many countries of the Americas.
In 1990, he was made Knight Bachelor by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his services to Medicine. In 2001, he was awarded the Order of the Caribbean Community, the highest honor that can be conferred on a Caribbean national.
He is married to Sylvan Chen and they have three children.
Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students.
Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus.
The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences.
UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation.