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Distinguished Fellow Edward Seaga (centre), former Opposition Leader, with his letter of appointment from the University of the West Indies (UWI) yesterday. From left are Dr. Vanus James, honourary Senior Research Fellow at the UWI's School of Graduate Studies and Research (SGSR), Colin Williams, SRGS consultant, Professor Errol Morrison, Pro Vice Chancellor and SRGS dean, Professor Neville Duncan, director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies, wife Carla Seaga, and Professor Anthony Clayton, professor of Sustainable Development at the university.
EDWARD SEAGA, former Opposition and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader, has been appointed honorary distinguished fellow at professorial level at the University of the West Indies (UWI).
Mr. Seaga, 74, is to take up the appointment on Monday, January 31, at the UWI's School of Graduate Studies and Research (SGRS). A welcome ceremony will be held for him in April when he is expected to deliver his inaugural lecture.
A release from the university last night stated that as a distinguished fellow, Mr. Seaga will pursue a portfolio in development studies, which should see him researching and publishing some five books in five years.
Some $30 million is slated to bankroll the former Opposition leader's academic stay at the UWI's Mona campus. Mr. Seaga was presented with his letter of appointment yesterday.
Graduate students in the UWI's Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) and under the guidance of Professors Neville Duncan (Government) and Anthony Clayton (Sustainable Development), will closely interact with Mr. Seaga through seminars, workshops and lectures.
NEGOTIATING FOR A YEAR
Professor Errol Morrison, head of the School of Graduate Studies and Research, who extended the invitation to Mr. Seaga to become a member of the UWI teaching staff, said the university has been negotiating with Mr. Seaga for a year.
"We just barely beat a number of North American universities which were actively seeking to recruit Mr. Seaga to their institutions," he said in the release.
Professor Morrison added: "Of tremendous help was the fact that he wished to stay close to a number of local projects which he had spawned in inner-city Jamaica and also to heed to his fierce nationalism and inner passion for his beloved country."
Only three such distinguished fellows have ever been appointed before now. They are Sir Shridath Ramphal, (chancellor emeritus of UWI), in international relations; Sir Alister McIntyre, (vice chancellor emeritus of UWI), in economics and planning and Professor Rex Nettleford, (vice chancellor emeritus of UWI), in cultural studies.
