The Campus opened its doors for business at the beginning of the 2019/2020 academic year. Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Campus, Professor Stafford Griffith was appointed for the period August 15, 2019 to July 31, 2020.
The formal launch activities included courtesy calls on the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and his Cabinet by the Vice-Chancellor and members
of The UWI Executive on August 26, 2019, a public ecumenical service at the St. John's Cathedral in Antigua on September 1, 2019 and the official ceremonial opening of the Campus on September 3, 2019.
In the first semester of the academic year, there were 175 students pursuing courses of study under the three Schools that were established. Twenty- five students were added to this complement in the second semester.
Interim Director of Academic Affairs, Mr. Hyram Forde, and Interim Director of Administration and Finance, Ms. Daniella Hickling joined the senior management team of the Campus.
The Campus held its first Matriculation and Welcome Ceremony on September 27, 2019, with Ms. Kayah M. Ward named Top Matriculant.
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda made a number of tangible contributions to facilitate the start-up of the Campus and to assure its further growth and development, demonstrative of its commitment to the success and expansion of the Campus.
Among its gestures of support, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda made a decision to offer 60 scholarships to students from across six Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries—Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Montserrat.
A grant for US$250,000.00 made to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda by the People's Republic of China was allocated to the Five Islands Campus in support of the development of state-of-the-art distance teaching classrooms and to support overall media enhancement at the Campus.
The UWI Five Islands Implementation Committee provided strategic support and guidance to the Campus in its first year of operation. The Implementation Committee was led by Pro Vice- Chancellor and Principal of the Open Campus Dr. Luz Longsworth and co-chaired first by Professor Alan Cobley and subsequently Professor Clive Landis, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Board for Undergraduate Studies.
The Campus' first year of operations also benefitted from the deliberations of an Oversight Steering Committee, chaired by Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Mona Campus, Professor Dale Webber, and which included all Campus Principals and representatives from the Governments of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda.
The governance structures of the Campus
were established, Boards and Committees fully constituted and inaugural meetings held for Campus Academic Board, Campus Council, Academic Quality Assurance Committee (AQAC) and Campus Finance and General Purpose Committee.
In June 2020, Mrs. Sharon Henry-Phillip, enrolled
in the School of Management, Sciences and Technology was announced as the first recipient of the Rotary/UWI Five Islands Campus Scholarship.
The Campus conducted its first independent semester examinations for students in December 2019.
Alignment
On January 14-15, 2020 the Campus successfully
hosted its first international conference—Emigrant policies in the Caribbean and Central America: Migration at the crossroads between Europe and Latin America in collaboration with the European Union-Latin America and Caribbean (EU-LAC) Foundation.
In observation of Black History Month on February 20, 2020 students presented a celebration which included multiple artistic, musical dance and cultural expressions.
Agility
The Campus marked World Quality Day on November 14, 2019 with a quality assurance workshop conducted by Pro Vice-Chancellor for Undergraduate Studies, Professor Clive Landis, and a team comprising Mrs. June Wheatley-Holness, Dr. Kay Thompson, and Ms. Sonia Nurse. The Campus also hosted a Leadership workshop conducted by University Registrar on February 28, 2020. The Campus teams worked to develop draft operational plans for various aspects of the work of the Campus. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda and The UWI continued collaborative discussions on the development of a master plan for the Five Islands Campus. A Joint Working Group has been established for this purpose.
The UWI Five Islands Campus COVID-19 Working Group established in February, chaired by Head of the Department of Health and Behavioural Sciences, Sr. Karen Josiah mapped and implemented the Campus' response to the pandemic.
As it played its part in supporting the regional UWI CARES initiative within the University's COVID-19 response programme, the Campus led a staff and student volunteer drive to donate care packages with basic food and personal items to single mothers and senior citizens in the Five Islands community in time for Mother's Day.
The Student Guild held its inaugural Guild elections in March 2020, with Mr. Caleb Gardiner elected as the very first Guild President of the Five Islands Campus. Mr. Caleb Gardiner was also appointed to the University-wide COVID-19 Taskforce, as a member of the diverse response team to represent the youth and student voice.
On April 6, 2020, the Campus Council met for the first time, in a virtual meeting setting, chaired by Mr Aziz Hadeed. The Campus' report highlighted many firsts and an overall success in establishing a fully functional UWI campus to better serve the OECS.
