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LinksVol. 5, #1. January, 1998.
This newsletter attempts primarily to keep the university community informed of the various formal academic cooperative links and agreements that exist between the University of the West Indies and other tertiary institutions and of the activity that is a consequence of these agreements.
This first issue of Links for 1998 reports on a number of significant developments which have occurred since the May 1997 issue.
Special Feature: FSU-UWI (St. Augustine)
United Medical and Dental Schools (UMDS)
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of Technology (UTech)
WIGUT (Cave Hill): Student Travel Bursaries
Notice to Faculties & Departments
Special Feature: FSU-UWI (St. Augustine)
In previous issues we have carried short notes on various aspects of a vibrant link developing between the UWI and Florida State University (FSU), in such areas as student services, and criminology and criminal justice, among other areas. In this issue we present a special full-length feature on the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice at the St Augustine Campus which has been spearheading several dynamic collaborative initiatives with a counterpart department at FSU.
The Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice is a new unit in the Department of Behavioural Sciences at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. It was formally opened by the Honourable Prime Minister Basdeo Panday and Sir Alister McIntyre, UWI’s Vice-Chancellor, on February 24, 1997. Its Director is Professor Ramesh Deosaran.
The central activities of this Centre focus on research, training, and policy development in criminology and criminal justice. The Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice through a Memorandum of Understanding operates in collaboration with the oldest school of criminology in the United States of America, Florida State University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Two joint research projects on delinquency and domestic violence are now being prepared.
Other regional research projects being undertaken by the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice include "Poverty, Youth and Crime", "Crime Prevention Among Youths", "Juvenile Homes: Social Assessment and Intervention Policies", "Poverty Alleviation and Community Empowerment" and "Mediation for Young Offenders". The development of training programmes for police officers, an information management system for crime statistics for the police service and the development of the MSc Degree in Criminology are also currently being undertaken in collaboration with Florida State University.
Professor Ramesh Deosaran, the Centre’s Director, led a team of local and international researchers in crime and criminal justice at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) which took place on November 19-22, 1997 in California, USA. Professor Deosaran’s two papers focused on crime and delinquency in Trinidad and Tobago and drug trafficking in the context of the 1986 Scott Drug Report and the 1997 Shiprider Agreement. UWI lecturers who also presented papers were Dr. Hamid Ghany on the death penalty and judicial indifference to murder and terrorism in the Commonwealth Caribbean and Dr. Derek Chadee on the jury in drug trafficking trials.
The UWI Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice joined with the Florida State University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the American University, Baldwin Wallace College, and Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela, in organizing three panels on Caribbean criminology at this 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology.
Part of the mission of this year’s visit to the ASC Conference was the establishment of a Caribbean Division of the ASC to create an exchange forum for Caribbean scholars and researchers in criminology and their counterparts from North America, Canada, England, Latin America, India and Europe. Possibilities for joint cross cultural research, promotion of exchange visits and data exchange were discussed. This new unit of the ASC consists of forty members drawn from the Caribbean and other parts of the world. The Office of the Caribbean Unit will be lodged at the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. Professor Ramesh Deosaran was elected as chairman.
An international conference on crime and criminal justice in the Caribbean is being planned for early 1998 to coincide with UWI’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations. The Secretariat will be lodged at the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice at UWI and will be host to hundreds of criminologists and criminal justice researchers from around the world. The Centre is also pursuing further work on several proposals and research papers submitted by the Faculty of Social Sciences and accepted as policy by Government which include "Mediation as a Community Alternative to Litigation for Young Offenders" which was used in drafting the Mediation Bill now before Parliament; "Youth Poverty and Delinquency: Policy Challenges" and the "National Action Plan Against Crime (NAPAC)".
The National Action Plan Against Crime was formally presented to and accepted by Government on January 22, 1996. The Centre also provides an administrative site for the UWI-based Working Group in Caribbean Criminology established in September 1995 and which consists of a team of regional and international professionals in criminology and criminal justice.
Other activities being planned by the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice for this academic year include the publication of its official monthly newsletter, to host a national consultation on victims’ rights, mediation and reconstructive justice, and to establish a Victims’ Rights Bureau (a direct telephone hotline where the public can relate their experiences and problems). The Centre will attempt to put mechanisms in place to allow such persons to seek redress, to obtain compensation where possible, and to re-establish their lives amongst other things.
The Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice has also published three issues of the region’s only international criminology journal, the Caribbean Journal of Criminology and Social Psychology. The inaugural issue of this journal was launched in January, 1996.
Minister of National Security, Brigadier Joseph Theodore met with Professor Ramesh Deosaran, Director, Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice on August 26, 1997 to obtain a first hand knowledge of its operations and to see what role it can play in crime detection, crime prevention and crime management. Minister Theodore was given an opportunity to view the Geographical Information System (GIS), a new computerized system that spatially expresses data (crime and other related data) on digital maps, housed at the Centre. The Minister expressed great satisfaction at the Centre’s accomplishments.
The Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice in collaboration with the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Tourism and Industrial Development Company (TIDCO), Trinidad and Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (TTHTA) and the Ministry of National Security hosted a national consultation on "Crime Prevention, the Tourism Sector and Socio-Economic Development in Tobago" at the Mt. Irvine Bay Hotel, Tobago. Several key papers were presented by representatives from the various government and non-government agencies. Over 150 guests were in attendance.
On October 14, 1997, The Honourable Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, paid his first official visit to the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice. Mr. Maharaj was presented with a Memorandum of Projects and Research Proposals by Professor Ramesh Deosaran, Director. The Attorney General discussed ways in which the Centre can be incorporated in the government’s fight against crime with special reference to the Ministries of National Security and Social Development. The Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice in collaboration with the Ministries of National Security and Social Development hosted a Policy Meeting/Consultation with managers of seven Juvenile Homes at the Trinidad Hilton on October 15, 1997. A Report on Juvenile Homes - An Analytical Basis for Reform, Intervention and Rehabilitation was presented by Professor Ramesh Deosaran to Ministers Joseph Theodore and Manohar Ramsaran, as well as managers of the homes and the media. This forum facilitated discussions amongst the various parties on preliminary research findings on juvenile crime in Trinidad and Tobago by the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice.
The Centre also provides technical support and a wide range of facilities for relevant research and teaching to undergraduate and graduate students, and academic staff at the St. Augustine Campus.
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Discussions are progressing smoothly on the development of a link between the UWI and Nipissing University, based in Ontario Canada. Among the objectives of the proposed link are the cementing of various collaborative arrangements which already exist between the institutions in the area of Education, as well as to help Nipissing diversify its student body through the hosting of exchange students. Other areas of possible collaboration include Environmental Studies and Management Studies.
The President and Vice-Chancellor of Nipissing University, Dr. Dave Marshall, has expressed a willingness to provide some funds to assist Cave Hill students participate in a student exchange scheme.
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UNICA’s Annual Meeting was held on 15-16 December 1997 at the Emerald Beach Resort, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and was hosted by the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). The meeting was attended by officials from eight Caribbean universities, namely: Sacred Heart and the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) from Puerto Rico, Quisqueya and the State University from Haiti, Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG), University of the Netherlands Antilles, UVI, and UWI.
Although the meeting reiterated several earlier verbal commitments, it did however endorse some significant initiatives by member institutions. Most of these were generated by the UPR, which has now been designated as the US national centre for Caribbean Studies. The following initiatives were endorsed:
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United Medical and Dental Schools (UMDS)
The UWI and the United Medical and Dental Schools (UMDS) of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals and King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry in the UK, established a collaborative link in February, 1996. The link is intended to enable the collaborating institutions to pool their resources in tackling critical health problems of Caribbean peoples in the region and in Britain. Among West Indians in the region and in Britain there is a high prevalence of diseases like hypertension, diabetes and their vascular sequelae, sickle cell disease, and psychiatric disorders, to name a few. The link will also facilitate staff and student exchanges, curriculum development, research and other joint activities.
Reciprocal visits by staff of the collaborating institutions have been instrumental in facilitating the establishment of Centres for Caribbean Medicine in the UK and the Caribbean. The UWI Centre for Caribbean Medicine was formally established in February 22, 1997 at a meeting on the Cave Hill campus. The UWI has established an Office for the administration of this link with a regional Coordinator, Professor Terrence Forrester, who is also the Director of the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit (TMRU) and who will lead the UWI Research, Teaching and Training programmes.
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The discussions which have been taking place between the UWI and the University of Quintana Roo, in Mexico, culminated in the signing of a collaborative agreement between the two institutions in October 1997. The agreement is intended to facilitate collaboration in the areas of teaching and research, the exchange of teaching staff, researchers, and students, as well as encourage joint workshops, courses, seminars and symposia. The agreement will be in effect for four years from the time of signing, at the end of which it can be extended by mutual consent.
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University of Florida, Gainesville
In our last issue (vol.4, #2 May 1997) we carried details of exciting collaborative projects being undertaken by the UWI, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), and the University of Florida, Gainesville. We are now happy to inform you that a supplement to the Memorandum of Understanding agreed to by the collaborating partners has now been signed which facilitates student and staff exchanges.
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It now seems likely that in the near future a vital link will be forged between the UWI and the University of South Pacific which, like the UWI, serves a group of islands. To this end both institutions have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which recognizes their similarities with respect to a regional commitment, the consequent importance of distance education, and a multi-cultural environment.
Areas identified for possible collaboration include: student exchange, joint research activities, joint teaching and supervision of graduate students, exchange of staff, joint sponsorship of seminars and meetings, organization of special academic programmes, and the exchange of academic materials and other relevant information.
Visit of UWI Official to USP
During the period 2-8 November 1997, PVC W.K Marshall visited USP on a fact-finding mission where he met with most of the leading USP officials, many of the directors of Institutes and Research Centres, as well as with the Head of the Fiji School of Medicine and the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Fiji Ministry of Education.
The talks focussed on such issues as the operations of regional universities, distance education, sustainable development, marine studies, commonwealth literature, comparative social and economic studies, technology, library development, and students exchanges. It expected that in the near future a senior USP official will be paying a reciprocal visit to the UWI.
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University of Technology (UTech)
In December 1997 the UWI and the University of Technology, Jamaica, signed two historic collaborative agreements. The first agreement committed the institutions to offering a joint degree in Hospitality and Tourism Studies to begin in September 1998. Under the terms of this arrangement students at the UWI, Mona campus, and the UTech will be able to study at both institutions for the duration of the programme, which will normally run for four years. The agreement will be valid for four years.
The second agreement, specific to UTech and the Mona campus, seeks to establish a framework for collaboration between both institutions as a means of enhancing the development and delivery of tertiary education in Jamaica. The agreement reflects the shared commitment of both institutions to a number of principles including:
(a) a recognition of the centrality of the student in Caribbean development strategies.
(b) the promotion of intellectual development within the academic communities.
(c) the promotion of professionalism among academics and administrators.
(d) the need to collaborate with Government and the workplace to identify priority areas for education and research.
(e) the pursuit of cost effective approaches to improve access.
(f) the need for efficient management of resources and,
(g) support for institutional exchanges locally, regionally and internationally.
Areas of collaboration will include, articulation of programmes, programme development and delivery, staff development, academic development, administrative issues, public service and community development, international linkages, and public education. The agreement will be for a duration of three years.
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The University has committed itself to exploring the feasibility of establishing three new sets of link arrangements. The first of these targets the University of Puerto Rico where a wide range of informal contacts has existed from the establishment of UWI in 1948. These extended contacts can be illustrated, first, by the series of seminars, workshops and conferences during the 1950s and 1960s, organised and sustained by Richard Morse, Tom Matthews, Lloyd Brathwaite and Roy Augier, which laid the foundation for the Caribbean Studies Association. The second significant set of contacts involve the partnership of Sir Philip Sherlock, the former Vice-Chancellor of UWI, and Jaime Benitez, the then President of UPR, which was directly responsible for the formation of UNICA.
The second set of link arrangements will target the universities of Southern Africa. There are obvious political and cultural reasons why UWI should extend and formalise its tenuous links with universities in this region. The third set of links will involve universities in Brazil and Singapore in an attempt to establish a network that would facilitate development of information technology inside UWI.
This Office will be taking the preparatory steps early in 1998 for the implementation of these initiatives.
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WIGUT (Cave Hill) Student Travel Bursaries
As promised in our previous issue, we bring you now further details of a scheme at Cave Hill to provide some assistance to UWI students wishing to visit another campus or overseas university for study purposes.
WIGUT, the academic staff union, has set up a small fund to try to help selected students each year achieve the goal of spending a semester or a whole year at a foreign institution. The scheme began late in 1996/97, with two awards being made for students travelling in 1997/98: Marsha Guthrie, a Jamaican studying Political Science and Law, who is visiting York University in Canada; and Carmel Haynes, a Barbadian student of English Literature, who is visiting the University of California.
WIGUT’s aim is to provide a certain amount of money to help towards the cost of travel from home to whichever country is to be visited. WIGUT is not able even to provide the full fare for most destinations, but hopes that a partial contribution will help. It hopes to target students with a special need for support. Any student, undergraduate or postgraduate, from any of the contributing countries, is eligible.
Application forms are available from the Student Affairs section of the Cave Hill registry.
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Notice to Faculties & Departments
If your faculty or department is involved in a dynamic collaborative link with an external institution, we would be quite happy to carry a full-length feature on your activities. There are often many benefits to be gained by informing our readers in the wider university community about these joint initiatives with departments and faculties of other universities.
Office of the Board for NCCs & Distance Education
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados
January 1998
Comments or questions respecting this newsletter may be sent to Dr G. Howe.
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HTML version prepared 8th January, 1998.
URL http://www.uwichill.edu.bb/bnccde/docs/uwilinks5-1.html
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