Sir Hilary appointed to Council of United Nations University

The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. Tuesday, March 1, 2022. — The United Nations and its Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, have appointed Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies, to the governing Council of the United Nations University. The appointment is for a period of six years beginning May 3, 2022.

The main functions of the Council are to formulate the principles and policies of the university, govern its operations, and consider and approve its biennial budget and work programme.

Council members are appointed in their personal not their institutional, national or regional capacity and selected based on their proven expertise in the academic, scientific, and educational abilities in discerning and governing educational and cultural trends.

This prestigious appointment comes against the background of Sir Hilary’s 2021 appointment to UNESCO’s committee of globally chosen scholars to research and report on the challenges likely to confront the global university sector by 2040.

In response to the news of his appointment, Sir Hilary stated, “I am greatly honoured to be a part of the work of the United Nations University, and to contribute to its legacy of excellent governance.” Further, he added, “It is a great cause to serve the world’s university in an area associated with my lifelong engagement; how a university can be at once excellent and ethical in its performance.”

About The University of the West Indies

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.

The UWI has been consistently ranked among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). In the latest World University Rankings 2022, released in September 2021, The UWI moved up an impressive 94 places from last year. In the current global field of some 30,000 universities and elite research institutes, The UWI stands among the top 1.5%.

The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists since its debut in the rankings in 2018. In addition to its leading position in the Caribbean, it is also in the top 20 for Latin America and the Caribbean and the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old). The UWI is also featured among the leading 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.