THE University of the West Indies (UWI) yesterday expressed surprise about the announcement made by Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Education Anthony Garcia, at a post-Cabinet media briefing Thursday, that businessman Robert Bermudez has been selected as the next chancellor of the university.

“The University Administration wishes to take this opportunity to indicate that chancellors are appointed in accordance with the university’s Statute 4, which clearly states: “The chancellor shall be appointed by the University Council,” a statement from the university said yesterday.

It added: “The university confirms that over the past few months it has been working through a specially appointed search committee to identify an appropriate successor to Sir George Alleyne, who is carded to demit office in the latter half of 2017.

“The matter of the appointment of the university’s new chancellor is an item on the agenda for the upcoming Annual Business Meeting of University Council, set to take place on April 27, 2017, in Barbados. It is at this meeting that a final decision will be made on the new UWI chancellor,” it added.

The Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), in a report, said Bermudez would be the second Trinidadian to hold this position following Dr Eric Williams.

Garcia, according to the CMC, said the UWI Council had established a search committee — that included representatives from contributing governments, the UWI Senate, the UWI Guild of Students, the Post-Graduates Association and the University Teachers Group — to find a new chancellor.

The decision to appoint Bermudez, he said, was ratified by Caribbean Community heads in their last meeting in Guyana.

Bermudez is the chairman of the board of directors of the Bermudez Group of companies and has led the growth of the Bermudez Group from a local, family-owned business, to a regional business throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.

He has enjoyed a distinguished career in business and is associated with several other corporate bodies in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean.

He is also a non-executive director of the Massy Group.

Bermudez was elected to the board of Neal & Massy Holdings Limited, now Massy Holdings Ltd, and in 1997, and has served on the company’s audit and governance and compensation committees.