Regional
Headquarters, Jamaica. Thursday, November 12, 2020 —
The University of the West Indies (The UWI) will confer 14 honorary
degrees at its 2020 graduation ceremonies. The ceremonies, which are
scheduled to take place from January 11–16, 2021, in a mix of
blended, virtual formats, will celebrate a graduating class of
approximately 8500 students across the region. In spite of the
COVID-19 pandemic, The UWI graduations will retain the tradition of
recognising Caribbean excellence through the conferral of honorary
degrees awarded for a wide variety of fields such as music, theatre,
public service, medicine, agricultural science and entrepreneurship
among others. The awards were approved by the University Council,
which has sanctioned over 500 honorary degrees since 1965. The 2020
honorary graduands to be recognised for their outstanding
contributions to regional and international development are:

Cave Hill Campus

• 
  Ms. Sonita Alleyne
  of Barbados for Entrepreneurship and contributions to Journalism –
  Doctor of Letters (DLitt)
  
  
  
• 
  Professor Juliet
  M. Daniel of Barbados for her work in Medicine and Cancer research –
  Doctor of Science (DSc)
  
• 
  Dr. Julio Frenk of
  the USA for Leadership in the field of Medicine – Doctor
  of Science (DSc)
  

Open
Campus

• 
  Mr. Franklyn
  McIntosh of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for his work as a Musical
  Director/Composer – Doctor
  of Letters (DLitt)
  
  
• 
  His Excellency the
  Rt. Hon. Dr. Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds of St. Kitts and Nevis
  for Public Service leadership – Doctor
  of Science (DSc)
  

Mona Campus

• 
  The Hon. Glen
  Christian of Jamaica for Entrepreneurship – Doctor
  of Laws (LLD)
  
  
  
• 
  His Excellency Sir
  Rodney Errey Lawrence Williams of Antigua and Barbuda for Medicine
  and Public Service – Doctor
  of Science (DSc)
  
• 
  Mr. Robert E. Levy
  of Jamaica for Entrepreneurship – Doctor
  of Laws (LLD)
  
  
• 
  Professor E.
  Albert Reece of Jamaica/USA for leadership in the field of Medicine
  – Doctor of Science (DSc)
  
• 
  Ms. Hilary Grace
  Sherlock of Jamaica for her work in Special Disabilities Education –
  Doctor of Laws (LLD)
  
  
  

St.
Augustine Campus

• 
  Mr.
  Paul Keens-Douglas of Trinidad and Tobago for his work in Culture
  and the Arts – Doctor
  of Letters (DLitt)
  
  
  
• 
  Professor
  Edgar Julian Duncan of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for
  contributions to Caribbean Science and Agriculture – Doctor
  of Science (DSc)
  
• 
  Mr.
  Dominico Felipe Martina of Curacao for Public Service leadership –Doctor
  of Laws (LLD)
  
• 
  Mr. Len ‘Boogsie’
  Sharpe of Trinidad and Tobago for steelpan arrangement, composition,
  and performance – Doctor of
  Letters (DLitt)
  
  
  

About
The UWI Honorary Degrees

The
UWI honorary degree is conferred on persons who have distinguished
themselves by their substantial contribution to the development of
the region and or the advancement of the University. Individuals
upon whom such a high honour has been bestowed are not referred to as
“Doctor” but are entitled to use the abbreviated honorary degree
behind his or her name.

More
about
the 2020 Honorary Graduands

Cave Hill Campus

Ms. Sonita
Alleyne – DLitt

Barbadian born
Entrepreneur and Journalist, Sonita Alleyne is currently Master of
Jesus College, one of the 31 colleges in the University of Cambridge,
making her the first woman to lead the College since its inception in
1496.

Ms. Alleyne is
committed to seeing the public and private sectors work together for
positive, societal change. Her public service includes her role as a
member of the London Legacy Development Corporation; Director of the
Cultural Capital Fund and Governor of the Museum of London.

Previously, she
served on the British Board of Film Classification (2009-2019), the
BBC Trust (2012-2017), where she was the Lead Trustee for Diversity.
She was a Board member of Archant, a regional newspaper group; a
Director of the Local Radio Company PLC (2004-2008) and an Advisory
Board Member – Ashbridge Business School.

Ms. Alleyne holds a
BA (Hons.) in Philosophy from Cambridge University. She has worked
extensively in broadcasting and journalism receiving the Carlton
Multicultural Achievement Award for TV and Radio (2001). In 2013 Ms.
Alleyne founded a private company called The Yes Programme. It was
established to provide career information at the early stages of
education. She was also the Founder/CEO of Somethin’
Else, a radio production
company which she grew into an award-winning UK digital agency.

Sonita Alleyne has
received the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners’
Award for Excellence (2000), has been featured among the top ten
women in the UK Black Power List and was also named among the top ten
BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) professionals within the
public sector in 2016.

Professor
Juliet M. Daniel – DSc

Juliet M. Daniel is
a Cancer Biologist whose research led to her discovery of a new gene,
‘Kaiso’, named for the Barbados native’s favourite music –
calypso. 'Kaiso’ regulates the expression of genes that control
cell proliferation, cell adhesion and cell motility. Consequently,
Kaiso’s malfunction leads to developmental disorders, aggressive
tumour growth and spread in various human cancers including breast,
colon and prostate cancers.

Her current
research focuses on the aggressive and difficult to treat triple
negative breast cancers (TNBC) that are prevalent in young women of
African and Hispanic ancestry. Her aim is to identify unique DNA
mutations or markers in cells that may explain this ethnic disparity.
Her impactful work has been funded by several national and
international agencies; most recently a five-year grant from the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) valued at CDN $805,000.

In recognition of
her research, Professor Daniel has received several awards including
The UWI Vice-Chancellor’s
Award (2019), the Barbados
Ball Canada Aid’s Errol Walton Barrow Award of Excellence
(2009), the Barbados National
Honour – Gold Crown of Merit
(2009) and the Ontario
Premier’s Research Excellence Award
(2001-2006).

Professor Daniel
holds a BSc in Life Sciences from Queen’s University and a PhD in
Microbiology from the University of British Columbia. She is
currently a Professor and Acting Associate Dean of Research and
External Relations in the Faculty of Science at McMaster University.
Professor Daniel also serves as a Faculty Advisor and mentor for
student-led initiatives such as the Black Aspiring Physicians of
McMaster and the McMaster National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).
Over the past 25 years, she has been a passionate advocate and mentor
for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). In 2007, Professor
Daniel co-founded the Canadian Multicultural LEAD Organisation, a
programme to help 15-18-year-old students consider their employment
options.

Dr. Julio
Frenk – DSc

A Physician who has
dedicated his life to health equality, Dr. Julio Frenk is arguably
one of the most distinguished public health professionals in the
Americas. His work as a researcher, educator and public servant in
the field of Public Health has promoted healthy populations and
health systems with the aim of eradicating inequities in access.

Dr. Frenk is
currently President of the University of Miami and previously served
as Dean of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. His public
service has included his role as Minister of Health, Mexico; Senior
Fellow, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Executive Director,
Evidence and Information for Policy Cluster – World Health
Organisation (WHO) and the Executive Vice President and Director of
the Center for Health and the Economy, Mexican Health Foundation. Dr.
Frenk also had the distinction of serving as Founding Director
General for both the National Institute of Public Health and the
Center for Public Health Research – Ministry of Health, both in
Mexico.

Dr. Frenk received
his medical degree from the National University of Mexico in 1979. He
also holds a Master of Public Health (1981), an MA in Sociology
(1982), and a PhD (1983) from the University of Michigan as well as
certification from the University of Miami and Harvard University. He
has authored or co-authored 27 books, 17 monographs, 92 book
chapters, 184 journal articles, and 152 articles in cultural
magazines and daily newspapers.

For his work in
Public Health, Dr. Frenk has received various awards and
distinctions. These have included more than 10 honorary degrees from
universities across the world including Harvard University,
Massachusetts, USA; York University, Ontario, Canada; Université de
Genève, Geneva, Switzerland and Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.

In 2011, Dr. Frenk
received Mexico’s highest Public Health award the Medalla al Merito
Sanitario. In 2018, Dr. Frenk co-founded the Hemispheric University
Consortium (HUC) which comprises universities across Latin America,
the Caribbean, Canada, and the United States, including The UWI.

Open
Campus

Mr. Franklyn
McIntosh – DLitt

Born into a musical
family, Franklyn ‘Frankie’ McIntosh was always surrounded by
music. He trained in classical piano as a young boy, joined his
father’s popular dance band, the Melotones at age 10 and formed his
own band at the age of 14.

In 1968 Mr.
McIntosh moved to New York to attend Brooklyn College where he earned
a Bachelor of Music and later a Master’s degree from the New York
University. During his studies he played keyboard with several
Caribbean R&B and Jazz groups. He went on to study with several
musical icons including John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Zenon
Fishbein and US composer, Robert Starer.

In 1976/77 Mr.
McIntosh first forayed into the world of Calypso arranging for
calypsonian Becket’s successful 1977 Disco Calypso album. In 1978
he connected with fellow Vincentian and Brooklyn’s premier record
producer at the time, Granville Straker. The two went on to forge a
musical alliance that would last decades.

Serving as musical
director and technical producer, McIntosh arranged for dozens of
Straker’s calypsonians including Chalkdust (Dr. Hollis Liverpool),
Shadow, Calypso Rose, Winston Soso, Poser, Scorcher, Singing
Francine, Duke, King Wellington, young Machel Montano, Lord Shorty
and others. His classic arrangements won the Trinidad and Tobago
Calypso Monarch for Chalkdust in 1981 ‘Things
that Worry Me’ and 1989
‘Chauffer Wanted’.
His work also won the Road March for Sparrow in 1984 ‘Doh
Back Back’ and Duke in 1987
‘Thunder’.

From Calypso to
gospel and reggae, Franklyn McIntosh has worked his magic on music
from every English-speaking Caribbean island. His work has been
honoured with an induction into the Sunshine Awards Hall of Fame in
New York (2015) and recognition by the Borough of Brooklyn, the City
of New York and the United States Congress – House of
Representatives. He has appeared on a stamp in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines and is recognised as a diplomat.

His
Excellency The Right Honourable Dr. Sir Kennedy Simmonds – DSc

As a regional
leader Sir Kennedy Simmonds is praised for leading the tiny country
of St. Kitts and Nevis into full independence from Great Britain in
1983.

Sir Kennedy became
a founding member of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) in 1965
formed as an Opposition party to the ruling St. Kitts-Nevis Labour
Party. In 1976 he was elected President of the PAM and in 1979
contested and won a by-election to fill the seat left vacant after
the death of Premier Robert Bradshaw. Sir Kennedy’s win, though not
recognised by the ruling party, made him the first elected
representative in St. Kitts who did not belong to the Labour Party.
In response, the Parliament was dissolved and General Elections were
called. PAM won three seats and formed a coalition government with
the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP).

When he took office
in 1980 as Premier, Sir Kennedy became the first UWI alumnus elected
to lead a Caribbean country. In 1983 he became the first Prime
Minister of the newly independent St. Kitts and Nevis. He led St.
Kitts and Nevis through a turbulent time, working with Sir Simeon
Daniel to prevent secession by Nevis. Prime Minister Simmonds’
visionary leadership between 1980 and 1995 birthed the Citizenship by
Investment Programme, Port Zante and the SELF (Student Education and
Learning) Fund.

Sir Kennedy
graduated from the University College of the West Indies with a
medical degree in 1962. During a leave of absence from his budding
political career he specialised in Anaesthesiology. He became a
member of the heart transplant team in Pittsburgh under the
leadership of the renowned Dr. George Magovern. He also pioneered the
use of the mechanical ventilator and the ECG monitor in the operating
theatre in St. Kitts and Nevis. After serving as Prime Minister of
St. Kitts Nevis, Sir Kennedy would again practice medicine serving as
Anguilla’s Anaesthesiologist from 2002-2013 then the Director of
Medical Services at Anguilla’s Health Authority.

Sir Kennedy has
received several awards including a Knighthood from Her Majesty the
Queen dubbing him a Knight
Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St.
George (2004). He also
received the Anguillan Medal of
Honour (2005) and Venezuela’s
highest civilian honour, The
Order of Liberator. In 2015,
Sir Kennedy received St. Kitts and Nevis’ highest national honour
and was named a national hero. He is the nation’s only living
national hero.

Mona Campus

The
Honourable Glen Christian – LLD

Entrepreneur
and philanthropist, Glen Christian entered the pharmaceutical
industry in 1971. In 1986, he started his own pharmaceutical
distribution company, Cari-Med Limited. Today, Mr. Christian is
Chairman of the Cari-Med Group which employs over 900 persons.

Mr.
Christian has committedly supported early childhood education, health
care and community development in Jamaica through the Cari-Med
Foundation. In 2010 the Foundation built the Evelyn Mitchell Infant
School, a state of the art Early Childhood institution in Brandon
Hill, Clarendon – Mr. Christian’s hometown. The facility, named
for his mother, was handed over to the Ministry of Education and has
been designated a Centre of Excellence by the Ministry. In 2015, the
Cari-Med Foundation collaborated with private and public partners to
build a similar facility in inner city Kingston. This school, the
Union Gardens Infant School, is also managed by the Ministry of
Education.

For
his public service, Mr. Christian has received several honours and
awards. These include the Governor
General’s Award for Community Service
and Jamaica’s national awards the Order
of Distinction
and the Order
of Jamaica.
In 2014, he was inducted into the Private Sector Organisation of
Jamaica’s Hall of Fame and in 2019, he was presented with the
prestigious International
Humanitarian Award
from the American Friends of Jamaica for his philanthropic work. Mr.
Christian has also received honorary degrees from his alma maters The
Mico University College and the University of Technology.

Mr.
Christian has been a valued stakeholder of The UWI. He is a major
donor to the Office of the Honorary Distinguished Fellow at the Mona
Campus and also conceptualised and serves as Chairman of the Jamaica
STEM for Growth Initiative, a collaboration between the private
sector and The UWI and Mico University College which prepares persons
to function in the technology-dominated world.

His
Excellency Sir Rodney Errey Lawrence Williams – DSc

Sir Rodney Errey
Lawrence Williams’ dedicated contribution to medicine and regional
leadership have both demonstrated his commitment to the health of
Caribbean society. The son of a career politician, the late
Honourable Ernest Emmanuel Williams, Sir Rodney followed in his
father’s footsteps serving as a Member of Parliament in Antigua for
20 years. During his political career he served as a Minister in
various ministries including holding the portfolio of Education,
Sport, Youth and Community. He also served as Deputy Speaker of the
House of Representatives and an Advisor to the Prime Minister. In
addition to his political career, Sir Rodney’s public service
included his contributions to the medical field serving as a District
Medical Officer and then a private practitioner.

After graduating
with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 1976, Sir
Rodney spent four decades of his professional life as a medical
doctor in Family Medicine with specialisation in Aviation and Sport
Medicine. From 1979 to present he has represented Antigua and Barbuda
in a medical capacity in several high-level sporting arena including
CARIFTA, IAAF, Pan Am and the Olympic Games.

In 2014, Sir Rodney
Williams was appointed Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda. In
the same year he was honoured with two knighthood appointments by Her
Majesty the Queen— Knight
Grand Cross of St. Michael and
St. George and Knight of the
Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

In 2020, Sir Rodney
was named Patron of the
Commonwealth Heritage Forum
(UK). He has also been a Patron of The UWI’s Global Giving
programme since its inception in 2016. Together with his wife, HE
Lady Williams, Sir Rodney is Patron of more than 30 non-profit
organisations. He has received an honorary degree from the St. Mary’s
College of Maryland, USA and a Professorship from the Kazakh-Russian
Medical University and the Government of Kazakhstan for his work in
Sport Medicine. In 2019 he was given the Freedom to the City of
London and in 2020 was named Trustee of the London based West India
Committee.

The
Honourable Robert E. Levy, OJ, LLD

Mr. Levy has made
significant contributions to the Jamaican private sector. Currently
the Chairman of Jamaica Broilers Group Limited, a company he has
served for over 50 years, Mr. Levy is committed to innovation and
development in the agriculture and livestock industry.

Mr. Levy has served
the public through his numerous Board appointments. These have
included his role as a Trustee of Regent University, Virginia;
Chairman of the National Foundation for the Development of Science
and Technology; Director of Back to the Bible, Jamaica; Director of
the King’s House Foundation; Chairman of the Moorland’s Christian
Camp; Chairman of the Sugar Company of Jamaica; Director of the
Caribbean Poultry Association; President of the Caribbean Christian
Centre for the Deaf and President of the American Chamber of
Commerce.

His contributions
have been recognised by his induction into both the Caribbean Poultry
Association Hall of Fame and the Private Sector of Jamaica Hall of
Fame. Mr. Levy is also the holder of the National award the Order
of Distinction in the Rank of Commander
(2002) for his contributions to the development of Jamaica’s
livestock industry and the Order of Jamaica (2019) for outstanding
service in the Agricultural Sector and Philanthropy. In 2014, he
received the prestigious American
Friends of Jamaica’s Humanitarian Award.

Mr. Levy completed
the Owner/President Management
Programme at Harvard Business School in 1996 and
has also been awarded honorary degrees by the Caribbean Graduate
School of Theology (2008) and the Northern Caribbean University
(2009).

Professor E.
Albert Reece – (DSc)

Jamaican
born, Professor E. Albert Reece is one of the world’s leading
experts on diabetes-induced birth defects and prenatal diagnosis. In
1982, he started studying why diabetic women have more children with
birth defects. He then pioneered a technique called embryofetoscopy
to detect fetal birth defects. Professor Reece has made key
discoveries in the biomolecular causes for diabetes-induced birth
defects, and has initiated prevention studies.

Professor
Reece received Bachelor’s degrees with honours (Magna Cum Laude)
from Long Island University and his medical degree (MD) from New York
University. He completed an internship and residency in obstetrics
and gynaecology at Columbia University Medical Center and a
post-doctoral fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Yale
University. He also holds an MBA from Temple University’s Fox
School of Business and Management, and a PhD in Biochemistry from The
University of the West Indies. He has published extensively including
12 books, 5 monographs and more than 500 articles, chapters and
abstracts.

Professor
Reece has held senior academic positions at Yale University and
Temple University. He has
served
as Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the College of Medicine at the
University of Arkansas. In 2006, Professor Reece moved to the
University of Maryland in his current position as Executive Vice
President for Medical Affairs, the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers
Distinguished Professor, and Dean of the School of Medicine. In
2010, he served as Acting President of the University of Maryland.

Professor
Reece is a member of the
prestigious National Academy of Medicine, has served on many national
committees including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the
National Institutes of Health (NIH); has received several awards
including the American Diabetes Association’s Nobert Freinkel
Research Award (2012), honorary doctorates degrees from Northern
Caribbean University, and the University of South Florida.

Ms. Hilary
Grace Sherlock – LLD

Special Educator,
Hilary Grace Sherlock has contributed significantly to the
development of Special Education in the Caribbean. She believes that
every child should feel motivated, cherished and appreciated – ‘No
child should be excluded’ and that is precisely what her work at
the School for Therapy, Education and Parenting of Children with
multiple Disabilities (STEP Centre) is dedicated to making happen.

Ms. Sherlock, the
daughter of renowned Jamaican educator Sir Philip Sherlock and Lady
Sherlock developed an early passion for education as she observed her
father work to help establish the University College of the West
Indies’ St. Augustine Campus. She graduated Oberlin College in 1968
then gained her MSc in Education at the Bank Street College of
Education (now incorporated into Columbia University).

In 1998, after
almost two decades directing several community development projects
in Portland, Jamaica funded by the government of the Netherlands, Ms.
Sherlock returned to Kingston and joined the STEP Centre as
Principal. Her vision for the school was broad and today, the STEP
Centre is a unique learning institute, recognised by the Jamaican
Ministry of Education, which serves children from ages 2-18 years who
have learning and developmental disabilities.

Ms. Sherlock has
been praised for taking a revolutionary approach which prioritises a
rounded experience, catering for individualised interventions for
each child and the full immersion of teachers.

Under Ms.
Sherlock’s leadership, a partnership with the Digicel Foundation
produced a new purpose-built facility for the STEP Centre in 2014.

Ms. Hilary Sherlock
has co-authored a book with her father – “Ears and Tails and
Common Sense’’ and has served as an Advisor to the Ministry of
Education on policy and curriculum development for the education of
children with special needs.

St.
Augustine Campus

Mr. Paul
Keens-Douglas – DLitt

Known as Mr. Tim
Tim in the world of theatre, Trinidad and Tobago-born cultural icon
Paul Keens-Douglas is one of the Caribbean’s best-known social
commenters and storytellers.

His childhood
interest in drama developed into a wide and varied background in
Theatre and Cultural Arts. Mr. Keens-Douglas is well known for
storytelling which highlights the Trinidad and Tobago and Eastern
Caribbean vernacular. As a writer, performer and producer, he
dedicatedly promotes Caribbean oral traditions, a commitment which
birthed his annual Tim Tim Show and Carnival Talk Tent launched in
1975 and 1983. Today, he has become well known for his dramatic
motivational speaking.

A self-published
author, Mr. Keens-Douglas has produced ten volumes including Tanti
At De Oval (1975) which was
translated and published in Japanese, German and French Creole. The
story has been included in the MCC anthology of cricket verse: ‘A
Breathless Hush...” and
several other cricket anthologies. Mr. Keens-Douglas’ work has also
been featured by the National Geographic, the BBC and across
Caribbean and North American media. Over the course of his career Mr.
Keens-Douglas has produced 30 recordings, 3 videos, 2 DVDs and has
toured extensively.

Paul Keens-Douglas
holds international diplomas in Commercial Broadcasting and Radio/TV
Production; a Bachelor's degree (Hons.) in Sociology from Sir George
Williams University (Concordia) (Montreal) and was appointed Poet
Laureate of Trinidad and Tobago (2017-2019).

His work profile
includes Rediffusion, Radio Trinidad and Creative Director
McCann-Erickson (Trinidad) Ltd. Through his company Keensdee
Productions Ltd., Mr. Keens-Douglas offers specialised inter-personal
and cross-cultural communication training. His contribution to
Caribbean cultural development has been widely recognised and
honoured. His accolades include the Trinidad and Tobago National
Award – Hummingbird Silver (1994) and acknowledgment at the level
of CARICOM.

Professor
Edgar Julian Duncan – DSc

Professor
Edgar Julian Duncan’s pioneering work in Plant Biotechnology (Plant
Tissue Culture) has benefited the region in very practical ways
including the mass production of banana, plantain, pineapple, orchid
and anthurium plants to supply Caribbean farmers.

Professor
Duncan holds a BSc in Botany and Zoology (University College of the
West Indies, Mona) and received the first Sir James Irvine Memorial
Scholarship tenable at the University of St. Andrews Scotland. There,
he earned a PhD in Fungal Cytology and Genetics. He went on to teach
at his alma mater, The UWI, graduating to the position of Head of
Department of Life Sciences and Deputy Dean for Postgraduate Studies
and Research in the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences. In
1996 he introduced Plant Tissue Culture as a discipline at The UWI
St. Augustine Campus, establishing a laboratory and developing a
course in the discipline. In 1999 he was named Professor Emeritus at
The UWI and to date continues to mentor researchers, teachers and
students.

Professor
Duncan has published two books; namely A
Guide to Wild Flowers of Trinidad and Tobago with
the Asa Wright Nature Centre and a co-authored manuscript Life
Along the Seashore of Trinidad and Tobago (2018)
with Lori Lee Lum. He also published 3 book chapters, 30 peer
reviewed journal articles and a further 6 in local journals.
Professor Duncan's services to the region, include the setting up of
national Tissue Culture Laboratories in Trinidad and Tobago and
Guyana, on consultancies for the Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO).

Professor
Duncan received The
UWI Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in
Teaching and Administration (1994) and the Lifetime
Achievement Award
in Agriculture for his pioneering contribution of Plant Tissue
Culture research and Development from the National Institute of
Education Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST) in 2002.

Mr. Dominico
Felipe Martina – LLD

Dominico ‘Don’
Martina has made his mark as a respected politician and leader of the
Netherland Antilles. In 1971 he co-founded the Movementu Antia Nobo
(MAN) and in a political career spanning more than 30 years, Don
Martina served as a member of Parliament six times, including four
terms as Prime Minister of the Netherland Antilles.

An alumnus of The
University of the West Indies, Don Martina gained his BSc (Hons.) in
Mechanical Engineering in 1967. He went on to attain an MSc in
Management and Industrial Engineering from the Columbia University,
New York in 1968.

Prior to becoming
Prime Minister in 1979, Don Martina served as Labour Inspector in the
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; Head of Social and Labour
Affairs, Netherland Antilles; Commissioner, Island Government of
Curacao; and a member of the Netherland Antilles Parliament.

In addition to
national leadership, his service to the region has included his role
as National Coordinator OECD/Caribbean Rim Investment Initiative and
Senior Advisor to Government of Curacao for Constitutional Affairs.
Don Martina is also known for his role as President of the Commission
to Rehabilitate Tula and the successful recommendation to proclaim
Tula – a slave who led the 1795 Curacao Slave revolt – a national
hero.

For his
contributions Don Martina has received the award: Knight
in the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (1983)
and the Grand Officer in the
Order of Orange-Nassau (1995)
from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He has also received the Order
of Francisco de Miranda en la Primera Clase
(1983) and the Order del
Liberta en el grado de Gran Cordon
(1983) from the Republic of Venezuela.

Mr. Len
‘Boogsie’ Sharpe – DLitt

Len Sharpe, better
known as Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe or simply ‘Boogsie’, is a very
successful and popular player, arranger and composer
of steelpan music from Trinidad and Tobago. As a soloist
extraordinaire or as part of a group, he has amazed audiences in
North America, Europe and Asia. His life has been one of breaking
boundaries in the pan world – in his composition style, in his
management of his band and in his outspokenness on the business of
pan.

His gift of
"perfect pitch" and the ability to immediately recreate
almost anything that he heard was realised at a young age. He began
playing at age four, and at nine, he tried his hand at composing. One
year later, he completed his first arrangement. By the time he
was a teenager, Sharpe had mastered the art of playing different pans
and was already being hailed as a genius.

Soon after he began
playing with professional steelbands, he started his own steelband,
Phase II Pan Groove in 1972. Boogsie has taken his band to over
thirty Panorama competition finals—the most by any arranger. 
He copped the first place with Phase II in 1987 making history by
winning Panorama without sponsorship, with his own composition
entitled "This Feeling
Nice", a double first. In
Panorama competitions overall, Boogsie has over 20 victories with
various bands in different categories. Pan aficionados and
enthusiasts worldwide converge annually on the Phase II panyard to
observe the “maestro of steelpan” as he shapes his Panorama
arrangements for the final night of the competition.

Sharpe has also
arranged for many steelbands across the Caribbean, UK and USA. He has
made several recordings encompassing a variety of musical genres
including calypso, classical and jazz. Among these is the very first
CD recording using the PHI, an electronic steelpan innovation
developed at The UWI which was inspired by Boogsie’s incredible
mastery.

His versatility has
taken him to bandstands, workshops and recording studios with such
Jazz greats as: Wynton Marsalis, Grover Washington Jr., Art Blakey,
Randy Weston, Gary Burton, Ginger Baker, Monty Alexander, Max Roach
and Tony Williams.

The
2020 virtual and blended UWI graduation ceremonies to be held in
January 2021, will be broadcast live via UWItv on www.uwitv.org,
www.facebook.com/UWITV
and Cable
TV channels on the FLOW EVO network.
The dates across the five campuses are as follows:

• Five
  Islands Campus (Antigua & Barbuda) – Sunday, January 10, 2021
  
• St
  Augustine Campus (Trinidad & Tobago) – Monday, January 11
  and
  Tuesday, January 12, 2021
  
• Open
  Campus – Wednesday, January 13, 2021
  
• Mona
  Campus (Jamaica) – Thursday, January 14 and Friday, January 15,
  2021
  
• Cave
  Hill Campus (Barbados) – Saturday, January 16, 2021