AT a short ceremony last Friday, Monroe College officially opened its campus now relocated to Vide Bouteille.
Dame PearletteLouisy, Governor-General of Saint Lucia, cut the ribbon at the entrance of the college to ceremoniously declare the new facility open.
Director of Administration, Mr. Gus Small, noted that this was part of the College administration’s on-going efforts to “to make this space friendly and conducive to learning.” He said: The new facilities are also part of the administration’s vision that the St. Lucia Campus be as modern as possible as are the campuses in New York.”
Added Small: “The Monroe College Campus door we are going to officially open today, is punctuated by several facts” and he enumerated manyl noted achievements of the College, including:
• Ranked most affordable private College in New York State (U.S News and World Report)
• Online bachelor’s degree programme ranked third in New York State (US News and World Report).
• 75 countries are represented at Monroe College; over 14,000 students have graduated over the past five years… with over 40,000 alumni worldwide.
• In Saint Lucia, Monroe College has graduated over 500 students from across the Caribbean region, in the past eight years.
• A scholarship grant of over EC$300,000 to the government and people of Saint Lucia annually; and support for all relevant educational activities, be it government or private enterprises seeking to educate the people of Saint Lucia and the region.
A team of administrative officials, led by Executive Vice President, Mr. Marc Jerome, from Monroe College’s New York campuses was present. It also included, Mr. David Dimond, Senior Vice President, Dr. Jacinth Coultman, Asst. Vice President, Academic Affairs and Mr. Parkus Ewan, Director, Network Infrastructure.
Jerome, in brief remarks, stated that the relocation of the campus was part of the plan to ensure that the investments made in St. Lucia benefit St. Lucian and Caribbean students.
Among speakers were Saint Lucia’s Minister of Education, Human Resource Development and Labour, Dr. Robert Lewis who urged Monroe College to continue working with the government of St. Lucia to ensure it meets its goal of “one university graduate per household”. Representing the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia was Lorne Theophilus, Minister for Tourism, Creative Industries and Heritage, who thanked Monroe College for its sterling contributions, not only to education but to St. Lucia’s economy.
The campus was relocated from Barnard Hill, Castries, after eight years. Classes started at the new campus in January.