Vice-Chancellor’s Report
private sector in terms of how best to present it with an investment instrument to enable private/public partnership. It should be stated, however, that the University Grants Committee approved, last year, the establishment of a ‘New Funding Model Committee’ which has made very innovative recommendations that are being assessed. The University Council Meeting in April 2020, will be receiving the package of ideas that have been approved. In addition, we have created an “Office of Global Partnerships and Sustainable Futures” to significantly upgrade the revenue stream for research funding and project development. In summary, then, The UWI has radically transformed its thinking and actions on this matter; 2021-2022, will see the roll out of an approved new financial model that will seek to erase the US$75-million funding gap that currently exists. Pressure to implement the new approach is driven by the fact that we carry about 10,000 students beyond our budgetary provision. Mona, for example, carries about 3,000 Jamaican students beyond budgeting who are funded by its entrepreneurial efforts. These decisions are taken because The UWI is not here to serve itself. It is not a profit-driven corporation. It is here to serve our communities. Service, then, not sales, is our eternal episteme. With respect to a funding model for the wider Caribbean, we have created a regional body comprising more than 50 regional institutions called ‘Universities Caribbean’. I have been asked to be the inaugural chairman for three years. This gives The UWI an opportunity to provide guidance and leadership to the regional university system.
the same period. Governments have carried this UWI on their shoulders for 72 years. In 2018, we took the opportunity of the CARICOM meeting in Montego Bay, under Prime Minister Holness’ chairmanship, to thank them for a phenomenally well done job, taking us from depending on the colonial scaffold in 1948 to a global elite brand we celebrate today. How, then, do we move forward as we drive our operations to the centenary in 2048? We will be asking our governments to maintain their funding levels to about 50%. This is enough to stabilise day- to-day operations, leaving us to be more aggressively entrepreneurial in search of development funds. We will be proposing, in this regard, to begin with a new business model in which the governments will be requested to market about 20% of their 100% equity in The UWI to private investors. We hope, therefore, that this will take care of 70% of operations. Given the growth of working-class poverty in recent decades, and the need for more equitable access from historically marginalised communities, we are inclined to keep student fees stable for the near future, contributing the 15% it currently represents. The new funding model, then, could possibly settle at 50% governments; 20% private sector; 15% students; and 15% international engagements. Already, discussions are advancing nicely to enable this new model. Governments, for example, are considering adopting the US model of allocating campus lands to the university freehold as opposed to leasehold. The UWI can therefore become a land-grant university. This has enormous entrepreneurial implications, as well as potential for balance sheet improvement, and the financial marketability of the institution. Furthermore, The UWI is engaged in advanced conversation with the
Internationally, the question is often asked, how does The UWI maintain its elite ranking located as it is in an economy that has not seen sustained economic growth in 30 years? The answer is obvious - deep stakeholder commitment, focused leadership, and the power of dedicated, unwavering colleagues. The new funding model, then, is unfolding before our very eyes, and will be ready for discussion and approval within our management organs in 2020. With the continued blessings of our governments, the requested investment support of our private wealth holders and the loyalty of international agencies, the plans on the table to drive the internal entrepreneurial business culture for greater financial self-reliance will be sprung into action.
The new funding model, then, could possibly settle at 50% governments; 20% private sector; 15% students; and 15% international engagements.
6
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker