UWI Toronto Awards

We are being challenged in ways never before imagined. The COVID-19 virus has penetrated our communities, posing for us and the world a public health crisis of enormous proportion.

Our collegial community and the nations we serve are faced with its multi-faceted consequences. It is a time for our University to rise to the challenge as we work closely with public health providers, governments, and communities. This work is ongoing as our respected scientists within the global science network are in aggressive pursuit of a sustainable solution to the pandemic.

We have taken all necessary defensive steps to protect our students and staff, while being offensive with measures intended to contain, suppress and eliminate the threat. It is a stressful time. A UWI-wide Task Force was created early in the wake of COVID-19, and this week it established a Psycho-Social Unit to deal with the inevitable issues of extreme levels of anxiety and stress associated with the trauma of the widespread disruption.

I am comforted by decades of personal knowledge accumulated within our academy that shows how we have always banded together and mobilized our collective capacity as ONE UWI to overcome challenges. In this regard, I am very pleased by the alacrity with which our students, staff, alumni and partners have come forward to serve as we manage this crisis and plot the path forward. I wish to thank them all for their ethical and excellent engagement.

As our Campus Principals have all affirmed, The UWI will not be defined nor detained by this circumstance. We shall transcend it and continue our journey of service beyond.

Sincerely,

Professor Hilary Beckles
Vice-Chancellor