The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The university has put several activities in place to mark the special occasion.

Monthly historic parish hikes, sharing scholarship through lectures and other learning activities, as well as an educational bus tour on Emancipation Day (August 1) are among a host of year-long outreach activities planned to mark the 60^th anniversary of university which merges with the regional University’s 75th anniversary.

Cave Hill, the third landed campus of the UWI community, opened in 1963 at a temporary location at the Deep-Water Harbour, before moving to its current location in 1967.

The 60^th anniversary celebrations themed ‘Resolute and Resilient’ is set to officially open with a festive parade around the campus on Friday (February 20) starting at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Caribbean time).

Addressing a media launch on Thursday (January 19) Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, said via a recorded message that the UWI Cave Hill campus has made a defining difference in the quality of life of the people of Barbados and the wider region, and has a critical role in their future development.

“It therefore means that we need to produce our students to be able to truly be global citizens with Bajan or Caribbean roots, recognising that it is only in partnership with others elsewhere in the world in pursuit of scholarship, in pursuit of knowledge, in pursuit of a humanising influence, in pursuit of being a disruptor, to do better than we were doing before. It is only against that backdrop that The University of the West Indies will remain that vital body, especially with Cave Hill as one of the campuses, that will make a difference, not just in Caribbean civilization, Barbadian development, but to global stability and prosperity,” she added.

Professor Clive Landis, pro vice-chancellor and campus principal, lauded the growth of the institution over the past six decades and noted that the calendar of events includes a heavy focus on outreach.

“This is consistent with the Cave Hill 2022-2027 operational strategy themed ‘Creating Value from our Ideas’, as we seek to translate our strengths in research into creating value for society, but also not forgetting to create value for the University itself through entrepreneurial activities,” he said.

Reflecting on the history of the institution, Vice-Chancellor, Professor Hilary Beckles, who served as principal of the Cave Hill campus in Barbados for thirteen years (2002-2015), pointed to the campus’s contribution to the development of Barbados and the region.

“Cave Hill was the engine that drove this country away from its colonial scaffold and put it on the highway to development. That could not have been done without the Cave Hill campus. Today, we celebrate 60 years of vision, 60 years of public investment, 60 years of a community that embraced its university, a community that became attached,” Beckles said.

“Cave Hill did not let this country down; it did not let this region down; it did not let this university down. It carried its responsibility with purpose, with passion, and with dignity,” he added.

Paul Altman, chairman of the Cave Hill campus council, ailed the campus’s remarkable history adding: “Cave Hill has grown into one of the most beautiful campuses anywhere in the world, but the most exciting part … has been its contribution to the minds and development of Barbadians, other Caribbean people and beyond.”