The UWI Vice-Chancellor’s Report to University Council

Vice-Chancellor’s OVERVIEW

This reporting year finds us at The University of the West Indies in the celebration of our 75 years of service to the people of the region. Over the past 75 years, we have been steadfast, advancing the conversations, research, and pedagogy essential to steer the Caribbean forward. Despite all of the turbulence and the divisions and all of the challenges as colonial and post-colonial nations, we are hunkered down and finding ways to generate the intellectual energy and efficiency to move our people through time. 75 years Regional Transformation to Global Leadership

Our 75 years of invaluable service is indeed a major achievement. The 75 th anniversary finds our university in a very good position indeed. We are now constituted as five campuses with 10 global centres around the world. At 75, our reputation as a university has never been greater. Our global visibility as a first class ranked university, as has never been greater, so at 75 years, we are ranked as the number one Caribbean University from a field of over 100. We rank among the top 1% of universities in Latin America and the Caribbean from a community of over 2000 universities. And we rank among the top 3% of the best universities in the world from over 32,000 universities.

and were resolved to get our students through this. We transitioned over 2,000 programmes to an online modality. We ensured our students graduated as planned. So we stayed the course. We took strong decisions. And history will undoubtedly recognize our University as one that managed the COVID-19 crisis with distinction. Our colleagues have every reason to be proud of this accomplishment. Moreover, we continue to uphold the activist spirit of our University. By owning our unique brand profile as a university, we are activists in all critical areas impacting the Caribbean people. Whether it is related to Sustainable Development Goals, food security, climate change, public

Such rankings affirm our readiness to serve our people and uphold our institutional stature. It is clear that we were tested in a way that we probably have never been tested before with the COVID pandemic and we came through that process with our head held high. The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly posed an existential threat to our university. Many universities worldwide struggled to adapt. They resorted to drastic measures such as closing campuses and suspending teaching indefinitely. These universities are now grappling with the daunting task of restoring their reputation. The UWI, however, never succumbed to such drastic measures. As a management team, we hunkered down,

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