Dr Cyrus McCalla has been unanimously reelected as chairman of American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) Board for another three-year term. 

An obstetrician-gynecologist, McCalla is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist and the current Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.  Over the years he has organised and participated in several medical missions to Jamaica and has also actively supported his alma mater high school, Clarendon College.

George Willie, managing partner of Bert Smith & Co., one of the leading minority-owned auditing and accounting firms in the Washington, DC Metro Area was elected as vice chair with Graham Dillard, vice president of the National and Community Partnerships at WBLS, elected as board secretary. Andrea McNish, CFO of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) was returned as board treasurer.

Welcoming the new executive, McCalla thanked all the board members who had served in the previous administration, including former Board Secretary Dr Hazel Carter, associate professor, chair of the Department of Leadership and Special Education, The City College, City University of New York (CUNY), who demitted office after more than a decade of service in that position.

Within its mandate of fundraising for scholarships for needy UWI students, as well as to support the other needs of the institution, the AFUWI recently presented US$113,000 for scholarships, personal protective equipment (PPE), including 10,000 face masks, face shields, isolation gowns, thermometers, and swabs, along with US$8,000 for contribution to the ongoing disaster relief work in the islands post hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Other AFUWI board members, include the vice chancellor of the UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Elizabeth Buchanan-Hind, Lorna Hawthorne, Dr Ron Chase, Alvin Clayton, Victor Lewis, Earl Phillips, Dr Larry Quinlan, Brandon Nelson, Janell Snowden, Peter Sherwood, and Angela Yee.   

The Foundation’s next public fundraiser, Celebrating The West Indian Spirit – Kitchen Table Talk, is scheduled for September 25 from 12:30pm – 2:00pm EDT and will be in free virtual format, seeking to finance tuition for final-year students, many of whom are facing dire financial challenges.