Life is Service
Dr. Rose Davies was a complete professional. She was unassuming, nonchalantly confident, and formidably competent in whatever she undertook thereby readily dismissing any attempt to underestimate or overlook her or the fields in which she worked. Dr. Davies was a leader who did not need to command overtly because of the thoroughness with which she articulated goals, the critical paths identified to achieve them, and the personal examples she set.
Continue readingINTRODUCTION
The Reverend Dr. Devon Dick and the Organisers of the Boulevard Baptist Church have conferred on me the great honour to deliver this first Eric Downie Memorial Lecture. While the task is awesome, it is not one that I could decline. We are inaugurating the commemoration of the life and work of a remarkable son of Jamaica. Loving husband, devoted father, bedrock of the extended Downie family, teacher, a Mico Man to be exact, college lecturer, historian, teacher leader and Baptist deacon are but some of the areas in which he excelled. But then we would have left out dominoes, of which he was a master.
Continue readingChancellor, Sir George Alleyne; Vice-Chancellor Professor E. Nigel Harris; Fellow Honorary Graduand Dr Joy Spence; Principals: Sir Hilary Beckles (Cave Hill); Professor Hazel Simmons-McDonald (Open Campus); Professor Gordon Shirley (Mona) and Professor Brian Copeland (St Augustine); Pro Vice Chancellors: Professor Yvette Jackson and Professor Alvin Wint; University Librarian Ms Jennifer Joseph; other members of the Platform Party; Deans; Professor Emeritii; Retired Members of Staff, in particular Mrs Gloria Barrett-Sobers, Mrs Joy Pilgrim and Mr. Anthony Fallon; the Honourable Arnaldo Brown, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Justice Seymour Panton, President of the Court of Appeal; Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Family and friends of the Graduands; Graduating Class of 2012; Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen I am triply honoured this morning. First, to have been awarded Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, from my alma mater. Second to say thanks to the University of the West Indies on behalf of fellow Honoree Dr. Joy Spence who is not only the first female master blender in the world but in 2012 has been awarded honorary doctorates from both universities from which she graduated. Third, is to be given the great opportunity to address the Graduating Class of 2012.
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Errol Miller
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen all let me thank the University Centre, and particularly Mrs Jane Bennett, for inviting me to give this public lecture this evening. I welcome the opportunity to speak in Belize on a subject with which I have been engaged continuously in the Commonwealth Caribbean for the last 35 years. Having retired from the University of the West Indies last year and having worked with teacher educators in Belize over the last 26 years I am approaching this lecture from the perspective of an oldster exiting the scene having a conversation with the generation that must continue the work that some of us took over from our elders in the profession. More than giving the Lecture I look forward to the question and answer session.
Continue readingErrol Miller June 2, 2006