No matter how dire the situation, regardless of how daunting the task, we prefer to believe that a solution can be found and success can be achieved.

We are also of the firm conviction that it is leadership that makes the difference between success and failure and between mediocrity and excellence. And this is no sudden bout of optimism that has come over us.

Dr Herbert J Thompson’s tenure as president of the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) is a perfect example of the difference which outstanding leadership makes, and a potent illustration of the point we are trying to make.

NCU, located just south of Mandeville, Manchester, is a private, four-year, co-educational, liberal arts institution, offering a number of professional, preprofessional and vocational programmes. It has an enrolment of 5,300 students and a faculty and staff of 453. NCU evolved from the century-old West Indies College (WIC), of which Dr Thompson became president in 1991.

We have since witnessed the dramatic transformation of the institution to university status granted by the Government of Jamaica in 1999. WIC started granting degrees in theology in 1959 and today NCU offers 43 undergraduate degree programmes and eight postgraduate degrees. The infrastructure, physical amenities and grounds have been modernised and upgraded to include a computer lab, sport complex and auditorium.

It is a Seventh-day Adventist-owned institution and takes seriously the spiritual development of young people as part of becoming well-rounded citizens. The university is open to persons of all religious faiths and has students from 35 countries.

Among the many notable accomplishments which demonstrate the value of Dr Thompson’s initiative and ingenuity — with the appropriate support of former SDA president and now Governor General, Dr Patrick Allen — is the recently opened multimillion-dollar building for the training of nurses. Construction of a state-of-the-art building was funded by Michael Lee Chin for the nursing school named in honour of his mother, the Hyacinth Chen School of Nursing.

Recently, NCU was awarded a software grant valued at US$118,286,184.00 or approximately J$10.7 billion by Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. The grant, the largest ever made to a university in Jamaica, will serve to strengthen the teaching and research of the engineering faculty.

Dr Thompson, a man of humble origin and sharp intellect, has charisma, vision and confidence, complemented by humility and a sense of humour. He has inspired others to join him and he brings out the best in others. His achievements and that of Northern Caribbean University attest to the fact that leadership makes a difference.

We are not letting out any secret when we say that Jamaica needs vastly more leadership like this in all areas of endeavour.