Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal. Monday, December 6, 2021 - The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Open Campus is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs Lesley Crane-Mitchell to the position of Head, The UWI Open Campus Saint Lucia, effective August 1, 2021. Mrs Crane-Mitchell replaces former Head, Dr Veronica Simon, who currently leads the Open Campus’s new Student Virtual Concierge Unit (SVCU).
Mrs Crane-Mitchell joined the Open Campus in August 2010 as Outreach and Marketing Officer at the Saint Lucia Site. During her eleven years with the institution, she has made a significant impact on internal, local, and regional stakeholders, building and strengthening relationships; and raising awareness of The UWI Open Campus and its life-long learning mandate.
Over the years, she has managed and coordinated a broad range of outreach activities from Open Days, School Visits and Workshops to Community Events, Lectures and Country Conferences, as well as the Annual Patricia Charles and Marilyn Floissac Memorial Lectures – raising the Site’s profile and ensuring that the presence and contribution of The UWI is widely recognized.
Mrs Crane-Mitchell is no stranger to the leadership role. Her wider service to the Campus includes serving in a regional capacity having deputized for the Marketing and Communication Manager in the co-ordination of Campus Council and TAC meetings. This was followed by an 8-month stint as a member of the Campus Leadership Team in the capacity as Acting Marketing and Communications Manager of the Open Campus from May 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. She most recently served as Acting Head of the Open Campus Saint Lucia Site, steering it through the disruptive social and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic for the past two years from Aug 1, 2019 to July 31, 2021.
Prior to joining The University of the West Indies, Mrs Crane- Mitchell served the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) for fifteen years cumulatively, in various capacities as Lecturer, Head of the Department of History, and Assistant Coordinator of the Department of Continuing Education. Her very first entry into the field of education was as a young teacher at the St Joseph’s Convent during the three-year gap between graduating from the Saint Lucia “A” Level College (now part of the SALCC) and entering University.
A proud Alumna of The UWI, Mrs Crane-Mitchell holds a BA (Hons.) in History and Law from Cave Hill Campus and an MA (Distinction) in Heritage Studies from the Mona Campus. As part of her professional development trajectory, she has completed training in Capacity Building and Leadership, Project Management and Quality Management Systems.
The UWI Open Campus congratulates Mrs Crane-Mitchell on her appointment and wishes her continued success.
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Mrs Lesley Crane-Mitchell, Head, The UWI Open Campus Saint Lucia
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.
