The UWI mourns the passing of Professor Edwin S. Jones
The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. Friday, March 12, 2021. The University of the West Indies (The UWI) community joins the Mona Campus in mourning the passing of Professor Edwin S. Jones, who was ailing for an extended period of time; he transitioned on the morning of Wednesday March 10, 2021.
Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dale Webber stated, “We mourn the passing of a UWI giant, Professor Edwin Jones whose contribution to the Faculty of Social Sciences and MSBM has been tremendous. Edwin was a teacher, researcher, administrator, mentor and a friend. Many lives have been positively influenced by Professor Jones and The UWI, Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world are poorer for his passing.”
Professor Jones joined The UWI Mona family as a lecturer in the Department of Government in 1973, and rose to the position of senior lecturer four years later (1977). He was promoted again, this time to head of the Department in 1980, and then to University and Campus Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (1987). In 1990 he was appointed Professor of Public Administration.
Professor Jones was educated at the Mico Teachers College, where he read for his teaching diploma; The UWI, Mona where he studied Economics and then onto the University of Manchester where he obtained his PhD in Public Administration.
Professor Jones was well-known for his expertise in public management and development internationally. He published several books on civil service management including: Coalitions of the Oppressed: Interest Groups in Colonial Political Systems, Development Administration: Jamaican Adaptations; Employee Morale in Jamaican Civil Service (which he co-authored) and his last book, Contending with Administrivia: Competition for Space, Benefits and Power. He published more than 30 articles in local, regional and international academic journals and upwards of 20 Reports which shaped the social services throughout the Caribbean as we know it today.
In the 1980s, he led the team which produced the report on Evaluation of the Jamaican Family Planning Programme; authored the report on the National Consultation on Housing in Saint Lucia; he authored the report on Feasibility of Teaching a Caribbean Public Enterprise Module at Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas in Austin. He also co-authored the report on the Implementation Strategy for the Cayman Island Tourism Management Policy and the Report on Public Sector Reform in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in 1997 which was later converted into a Green Paper - to name just a few.
His academic career spans the globe, from being Visiting Research Scholar at Florida State University, the London Business School, the University of Texas, Austin to serving as teaching assistant at the University of Manchester and lecturer at the University of Zambia.
His eminent contribution to public service was recognised by his colleagues and his countrymen. In 1998, Professor Jones received a National Honour: The Order of Distinction in the Commander Class for his contribution to The UWI and public service; in 2005, he received the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service and in 2007, he received the Order of Jamaica for excellence in academia and public service. In 2006 he was appointed Professor Emeritus of Public Administration at The UWI Mona.
Professor Jones was passionate about quality of leadership in the public and private domains, he saw this as essential to effective management. This was evidenced by the many areas of public life to which he gave his expertise, from family planning, energy, housing, to corporate governance and tourism policy as well as his board memberships. He was Chairman of the Planning Institute of Jamaica; member of the Public Services Commission, member of the Board of the National Resource Conservation Authority and the Jamaica Workers Savings and Loan Bank. He served as Special Advisor to the Government of Jamaica in the areas of: housing, public sector modernization, labour, social welfare, sports, tourism, police reform and community development.
His extraordinary contribution to public service and policy throughout his life is his legacy and will continue to touch all our lives with every public and private sector interaction we encounter.The UWI extends heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues and friends in their time of bereavement.
(L-R) Professor Edwin Jones pictured at his book Launch in November 2015 next to former Prime Minister, the Hon. PJ Patterson. The title of the book: Contending with Administrivia: Competition for Space, Benefits and Power.
About The UWI
The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region.
From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Open Campus, and 10 global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.
Ranked among the top universities in the world, by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education, The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. In 2020, it earned ‘Triple 1st’ rankings—topping the Caribbean; and in the top in the tables for Latin America and the Caribbean, and global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old). The UWI is also featured among the top universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.
For more, visit www.uwi.edu.
(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)
