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Celebrating Woman Power
Her Excellency Dame Sandra Mason, Governor General of Barbados
The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados
The University celebrated the fact that in this period, some of the Caribbean's most accomplished women were elevated to distinguished leadership positions.
On March 19, 2018, Madame Justice Paula-Mae Weekes was sworn in as the sixth President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The country's first female head of state graduated from the Cave Hill Campus in 1980 with a Bachelor of Laws degree with honours. Her Excellency joins the ranks of over 20 heads of state to have received a UWI education.
Dame Sandra Mason also brought honour to her alma mater when, in 2017, she was appointed the eighth Governor General of Barbados. She was simultaneously awarded the Dame Grand Cross in the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. Upon her appointment, she became Chancellor and Principal Dame of Saint Andrew. She previously served as a High Court judge in Saint Lucia and a Court of Appeal judge in Barbados.
Ms. Mia Mottley, who in May 2018 became the first woman elected to the position of Prime Minister of Barbados, also served as Chair of the University Grants Committee (UGC) for 2018 and actively sought to suggest solutions to the financial predicament in which The UWI finds itself because of the shortfall in government debt payments.
Alumnus Cricketer rises to #1 All Rounder in the World
Jason Holder
The excitement is always palpable when West Indies Cricket Captain Jason Holder steps onto the pitch. The 27-year-old Barbadian led the team to a stunning Test victory against England in January 2019. Showing remarkable maturity for someone so young, he was made ODI Captain at the age of 24, and one year later also took up the mantle at the Test level.
Holder has risen to No.1 in the MRF Tyres ICC Test rankings for all-rounders in the world. He is the first West Indian since Sir Garfield Sobers to do so. He is proof that the Sagicor-UWI Cricket High Performance Centre, under The UWI's Faculty of Sport, is spot-on in its assertion that it is a key component in the identification and formation of talent within the region. Much more is anticipated as young graduates of the HPC step forward to take their place among the constellation of cricket stars.
Justice Adrian Saunders Appointed to Caribbean Court of Justice
Justice Adrian Saunders
Alumnus Justice Adrian Saunders became the third President of the Caribbean Court of Justice in July 2018. Mr. Justice Saunders acquired an LLB at The UWI Cave Hill in 1975 and was appointed to the CCJ on its inception in 2005. He has made an immense contribution to the administrative and judicial functions of the court, and is widely regarded as an affable and articulate judge who has rendered judgments of superior quality.
He is also Chair of the Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers (CAJO) and Course Director of the Halifax-based Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute's (CJEI) Intensive Study Programme. In April 2018, he was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Global Judicial Integrity Network by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
