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University Appointments

Ambassador Richard Bernal

As part of ongoing strategic efforts to steer the global outreach of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Ambassador Richard Bernal was appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor (PVC) Global Affairs earlier this year. In this newly created post within the University’s Regional Headquarters in Mona, Jamaica, Ambassador Dr Bernal is charged with coordinating all negotiated international projects and programmes with campus principals, driving The UWI’s global initiatives and assisting with promoting and obtaining the global accreditation of the institution.

Ambassador Dr Bernal is an economist with over 40 years of experience. He was educated at, the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University. Among his formal qualifications include a BSc, MA, PhD in Economics and an MIPP in International Public Policy. He is currently Counsellor for Jamaica on the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). He served as Executive Director from 2010-2012 and Alternate Executive Director from 2008-2010. Prior to the IDB, he was the Director-General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) for eight years with responsibility for trade negotiations for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Cuba and the Dominican Republic...more

Professor Jessica Byron

Professor Jessica Byron has been appointed Director of the Institute for International Relations (IIR), at The UWI St Augustine Campus with effect from August 1, 2016.

She holds a PhD in Political Science (International Relations) from the University of Geneva, Switzerland (1990), a postgraduate diploma International Relations from The UWI, St Augustine Campus (1979) and a BA in French and Spanish (First Class Hons) from The UWI Cave Hill Campus (1978).

Prior to her appointment at IIR, Professor Byron, an international relations specialist, was a Professorial Fellow for one year at The UWI Mona Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES). She is also the former Head of the Department of Government, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica from 2010 to 2013 and a former UWI Coordinator of a tripartite BSc/MSc programme in Politics and International Cooperation involving The UWI, Universite Antilles-Guyane and the University of Bordeaux IV…more
Dr. Joseph B. Powell

Dr Joseph B. Powell has been appointed General Manager to the UWI Press, effective 01 August, 2016. He succeeds Mrs Linda Speth who retired after serving as General Manager for the past 16 years.

Dr Powell who has been a student and scholar of the Caribbean for over 20 years, has a BSc in Sociology from the College of Charleston, an MA in Anthropology and a PhD in Geography and Anthropology from Louisiana State University.  The UWI Press will benefit from the wealth of experience he brings from a career in scholarly publishing including his serving as senior acquisitions editor at the University of Alabama Press, and as acquisitions editor at Louisiana State University Press. At the University of Alabama Press, Dr Powell managed a number of series including Atlantic Crossings, Caribbean Archaeology and Ethnohistory, Contemporary American Indian Series, and Classics of Southeastern Archaeology. At Louisiana State University Press, Dr Powell’s duties included conceptualizing and planning acquisitions strategy for environmental studies and geography...more