ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Sir Hilary Beckles, has received the Governor General’s Faithful and Meritorious Award’s highest honor, the Cross and Plaque.
UWI Vice-Chancellor, Sir Hilary Beckles (left) receiving award from Governor General, Sir Rodney Williams (Photo Office of the Governor General)Governor General Sir Rodney Williams in conferring the award on the academic, described him as a giant of a Caribbean man who had a passion for people, a passion for progress, a passion for productivity and a passion for preserving the past treasures of the region.
The Governor General said that the honor was not only well deserved but a timely one, since the Vice Chancellor’s 40 years of service at the UWI also coincides with the celebration of Antigua and Barbuda’s 40th anniversary of political independence from Britain.
A statement from the Office of the Governor General said that Sir Hilary received the honor during an investiture ceremony last Saturday and that the lengthy citation, outlined the many academic accolades and internationally recognized social contributions of the Vice-Chancellor.
It said that Sir Hilary was also praised for his leadership at regional university as evidenced by the results of his triple A management strategy of Access, Alignment and Agility. Through this strategy, the UWI was recently ranked in the Times Higher Education in the top 1.5 percent of globally ranked universities.
In his response, Sir Hilary expressed his profound thanks to the Governor General for the honor and shared that divine intervention, the influence of his parents, mentors and his hard-working team at the UWI have all contributed to making him the West Indian man he is today.
In April, Sir Hilary’s contract as UWI vice-chancellor was renewed for another six-year term despite opposition from the governments of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
