The UWI, Open Campus Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal. Monday, July 19, 2021— Ms. Althea Gordon has been appointed Campus Registrar of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Open Campus. Ms Gordon’s appointment takes effect on August 1, 2021. She replaces Mrs Karen Ford-Warner who retires at the end of July 2021.
A national of Jamaica, Ms Gordon holds a Master’s in International Law and Politics from the University of Hull, England, a BSc in International Relations with a minor in Sociology and a Certificate in Public Administration from The UWI Mona Campus. As an International Education practitioner, Ms. Gordon has also participated in Campus Internationalisation training with the University of Illinois through a partnership with the United States Department of State - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Althea Gordon has had a successful career at The UWI, having joined the Mona Campus in 1987. She gained extensive administrative and operational experience while holding positions in the Campus Registry, primarily in the Examinations Section, Outreach and Awards Unit, and the Secretariat. She subsequently deepened this knowledge at the faculty level as an administrator in the Faculty of Humanities and Education. She represented the senior administrative and technical staff on Mona’s Campus Council and the University Council, and served as a member of the UWI 12 Recruitment Working Group.
At The UWI Mona Campus Ms Gordon was tasked with the establishment of the International Students Office, (ISO). During her 13-year tenure as Senior Assistant Registrar in that Office, she grew the student mobility numbers exponentially, enabling the Mona Campus to earn in excess of six (6) million dollars in one year. She collaborated with colleagues at the St. Augustine and Cave Hill Campuses to lobby for the establishment of the Canadian Faculty Leadership Pilot Project. This was launched in 2010 and saw faculty and staff participating in short term mobility programmes to Canada. Ms Gordon further enabled the Mona Campus’ participation in the Erasmus+ Scholarship Projects, successfully submitting bids to the European Union to secure funding for students, faculty and staff to participate in mobility programmes to 5 European partner universities.
She streamlined several business processes for international students, including supporting the Campus Registrar in negotiations with Jamaica’s Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) for the on-site processing of visas for all non-Jamaican students on the Mona Campus. She further contributed to normalising of a student-centred approach to service delivery through the establishment of a pre-orientation webinar series and positioning the ISO as the main point of contact for non-Jamaican students to access services throughout the campus.
Ms Gordon brings to the Open Campus a wealth of experience in international education, and her articles in the field have been published in international recruitment journals. She has also presented and co-presented papers at several international conferences.
Ms Gordon currently serves on various committees and panels dealing with international education. She is a member of the NAFSA: Association for International Educators, serving as Member of the Special Interest Group for Latin America and the Caribbean, the’ Inter-Cultural Training Network Sub-Committee and the Latin American and Caribbean Forum. Additionally, she has held membership with other international organisations such as the European Association for International Education and presented papers at the Conference of the Americas on International Education.
"We warmly welcome Ms Althea Gordon to the Open Campus family in the critical role of Campus Registrar,” stated Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Open Campus, Dr Luz Longsworth. “We look forward to her bringing her wide experience to us and to contribute to the growth of the Campus particularly in the key areas of excellent student services and care, and in expanding our student population within the region and beyond. Her qualifications in International Relations and Law are a particular beneficial at this point in time, as we move relentlessly towards the Global Campus reality."
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Photo Caption: Ms Althea Gordon, new Campus Registrar at The UWI, Open Campus.
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.)
