During an investiture ceremony held on December 4, Sir Rodney Williams, governor-general of Antigua and Barbuda, conferred the Governor General’s Faithful and Meritorious Award’s highest honour, the Cross and Plaque, on Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI).

The award recognises Sir Hilary’s 40 years of distinguished service to The UWI and the Caribbean.

Sir Rodney described the vice chancellor as “a giant of a Caribbean man who has a passion for people, a passion for progress, a passion for productivity and a passion for preserving the past treasures of the region”.

The Governor-General also shared that the honour was not only well deserved, but timely since the Vice-Chancellor’s 40 years of distinguished service at The UWI coincided with the celebration of Antigua and Barbuda’s 40th anniversary of political independence. 

A lengthy citation, which outlined the many academic accolades and internationally recognised social contributions of Sir Hilary also identified his leadership at The UWI as a transformational one, as evidenced by the results of his Triple A management strategy of Access, Alignment and Agility.

THE UWI AMONG TOP 1.5% OF UNVERSITIES IN THE WORLD

This strategy laid the foundation that led to The UWI’s recent ranking among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE), and its current standing among the top 1.5 per cent of universities in the world.

In his response, Sir Hilary expressed his profound gratitude to the Governor-General for the honour.

He also shared that divine intervention, the influence of his parents, mentors and his hard-working team at The UWI have all contributed to making him the West Indian man he is today.

The ceremony took place in the Investiture Room at Government House in Antigua and Barbuda, in the presence of guests including Antigua and Barbuda’s Acting Prime Minister Steadroy Benjamin; Minister of Education,
Culture and The Creative Industries Daryll Matthew; Chair of The UWI Five Islands Campus Council, Aziz Hadeed; and Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal of The UWI Five Islands, Professor Densil Williams.