SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall Awarded Honorary Doctorate from The University of the West Indies
November 5, 2018
Ceremony Coincides with Launch of the SUNY-UWI National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty Research Training Program
JAMAICA – State University of New York Board Chairman H. Carl McCall was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from The University of the West Indies (The UWI) at their Mona campus Saturday, November 3, for his leadership in public service. The honor, his 10th in his career, was approved by the University Council and conferred at The UWI’s 2018 graduation ceremony and presented by Chancellor Robert Bermudez.
The Chairman’s visit to The UWI also included attending the launch of the SUNY-UWI National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty Research Training Program, which is a collaboration between the University at Buffalo and The UWI’s Mona campus. The program was made possible by a grant of $1.5 million for the Global Infections Diseases Research Training Program by the National Institutes of Health.
"The opening of the SUNY-UWI Global Infections Diseases Research Training Program, which will be significant for the healthcare sectors of both of our regions, is a truly momentous occasion," said SUNY Chairman McCall. "Education, at its heart, is about bringing people together, and this collaboration will help us to make improvements to infrastructure, jobs, healthcare, and education that we all earnestly need. I am proud to receive an honorary doctorate from The UWI, and I am excited to continue to witness the remarkable feats that this partnership can accomplish."
"Chairman McCall’s leadership continues to be instrumental in creating the ongoing partnership between SUNY and The UWI, which has now led to the birth of a key training program that will significantly benefit the health sector," said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. "This collaboration is a prime example of how working in multicultural teams leads to making breakthroughs across disciplines, and Chairman McCall recognizes how much our communities, nations, and world benefit. I congratulate Chairman McCall and I look forward to our continued work between the two systems."
Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles said, "Chairman McCall is a brilliant, inspirational educational leader whose strategic and ethical calculus leads to bridge building across the most turbulent waters. Because he sees so deeply the stillness beneath the surface he clearly captures the foundations on which to build solid relationships. The SUNY-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development is one such structure he has created to span the hemisphere of higher education. We are thrilled to have made our historic entry into the global market, partnering with SUNY to launch this Center in New York two years ago. It signaled our first step in an aggressive globalization strategy which has helped us to be rated highly for our international outlook in hemispheric and world higher education rankings. We look forward to continued partnerships on joint projects like the health research program and others that impact the wellbeing of our people and region."
About The UWI
For the past 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region. In 2018, The UWI celebrates its evolution from 1948 as a university college in Jamaica with 33 medical students to an internationally respected regional university with near 50,000 students. Today, The UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and an Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. Its seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. The UWI has been a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of our people. As the regional institution commemorates its 70th anniversary milestone, it will celebrate its students, faculty, administrators, alumni, governments, and partners in the public and private sector. The anniversary commemoration will focus on reflection as well as projection for the future with an emphasis on social justice and the economic transformation of the region. Website: www.uwi.eduand www.uwi.edu/70.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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