Vice Chancellor Award Ceremony

The Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence for 2006 were presented to Dr. Kim Mallalieu - Teaching, St. Augustine (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering); Professor Rose-Marie Antoine - Research, Cave Hill (Faculty of Law); Professor Helen Jacobs - Research, Mona (Department of Chemistry) and Mr. Cordel Nelson for Service to the University Community, Mona (the
Registry, Examinations Section).

The awardees were described by Professor Antoine in her reply on their behalf, as individuals who share
certain common characteristics, which include commitment, sense of pride in their work, creativity and loyalty to the University.

Their commitment, she said, is not just to their various subjects but to the University, to their communities, their countries, and their region. With this commitment, comes hard work,
perseverance, determination and perhaps, a little toughness, which is often needed in the face of adversity and sacrifice and requires going far beyond the call of duty.

The sense of pride that the awardees experience comes from the love of their work; their loyalty to a University of which they are proud, the opportunity to shape the leaders of tomorrow, and from the fact that their work helps to set policy and shape development. The UWI helps to inculcate this sense of pride which is essential for excellence.

“Unless we in the region understand that we have the capacity not just to follow, but to LEAD, including taking a lead in
the formulation of new ideas, concepts and methods, we will not attain real development”, Professor Antoine indicated.
“For us to excel, and for our University to SOAR,we must develop a more aggressive pioneering spirit, we must inculcate
attitudes and values of creativity and innovation grounded in our belief as a confident people that we are not only just as good as, but often better than”, she continued. Professor Antoine said that, “These awards are not just for the awardees.They are also for the institution, for the communities which we serve and indeed, the entire region. They
represent a recognition of the capacity of our peoples to excel, to shine, even against the odds”.“It is our duty to let Caribbean peoples know what we can do and what we have done - so that we can be mentors and role models, can help to instill a sense of pride and self worth in the region. And so, when the labourer from Dominica picks up a tomato in the supermarket, he must know that that tomato was invented in a lab in St. Augustine.These awards give a face to the
excellent work of the UWI and permit the awardees to share in the great tradition of excellence of the UWI”, she concluded.