Education Ministry: No wrong in naming UWI Chancellor

During the post-Cabinet news conference on Thursday, Garcia announced that Bermudez was the new UWI Chancellor, a move which did not sit well with the university’s council which reviews candidates for the position.

While the UWI Council has accused Garcia of speaking out of turn, saying that a decision is yet to be finalised, the minister has held his ground on the simmering issue.

Garcia said in the House of Representatives on Friday that he was directed by the Cabinet to announce Bermudez as the new UWI Chancellor.

“In fact, it was the feeling of the Cabinet that at this point, it was safe and prudent to make such a statement,” he said in response to Opposition queries on the issue. But yesterday, in a statement, the ministry simply gave the chronology of events which led to the decision to announce Bermudez as the new UWI Chancellor.

It said on September 7, 2016, the University Council established a search committee to begin the process for the appointment of a new Chancellor after Professor Sir George Alleyne had signalled his imminent retirement.

The ministry said a Chancellor holds the office for a period of seven years and may be reappointed for a second seven-year term by the Council. Professor Sir George Alleyne was first appointed in 2003 and was reappointed for a second term on October 1, 2010. He will vacate office on July 31, 2017, the ministry said.

The search committee, the ministry said, was chaired by Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles and comprised representatives from the Bahamas; Barbados; Jamaica; Trinidad and Tobago and two representatives of other contributing countries.

The committee also comprised five representatives of the Senate; one representative from the Post Graduate Students’ Association; Guild of Students; WIGUT (West Indies Group of University Teachers); and one alumni representative.

Among other criteria, the ministry said to be appointed to the office of Chancellor, one must be a national of the Commonwealth Caribbean and person of distinction in academic, professional or other worthy field of endeavour.

The ministry said at the first meeting on September 7, 2016, members of the search committee were asked to submit their nominations by October 2016.

Regarding the process, the ministry said there was an examination of the credentials of the persons nominated and that every effort would have been made to arrive at a consensus.

It said the recommendations were discussed with the prime ministers of the region at their caucus meeting and that a follow-up meeting was held in January 2017.

The ministry said a final meeting was held in March to examine the inputs from the prime ministers.

“The committee was of the view that there needed to be a paradigm shift away from a Chancellor whose background was strictly in academics,” the ministry said.

“It was felt that since the Caribbean economies are on the decline, the university needed a Chancellor who in addition to academia also possesses business acumen.” The ministry said following this procedure, the chairman reported to the committee at its meeting on April 7, 2017, that all Heads of Governments “were in agreement with the recommendation to select the nominee of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Robert Bermudez to be the next Chancellor of the University of the West Indies.” On April 2017, the ministry said, Garcia reported to Cabinet that at the 28th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Governments of Caricom, held in Guyana, the prime ministers had all agreed with the decision of the search committee that Bermudez be the next Chancellor.

Garcia also said during the meeting of the Business Session of Council of UWI that the report will be submitted for approval on April 27, the ministry said.

The ministry said at the Cabinet meeting, Garcia was instructed to inform the population that the search was completed and that Bermudez would be the next Chancellor