KINGSTON, Jamaica — The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus in Barbados has paid tribute to the UWI vice-chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles by naming its new administration building in his honour.

The building now bears the name Hilary McDonald Beckles Administration Complex. The university said the four storey structure was conceptualised by Sir Hilary, during his tenure as principal at Cave Hill, to reflect the architectural motif of the Golden Stool of the Ashanti that serves as a symbol of cultural identity and the collective wisdom of elders and ancestors. Sir Hilary invited the Asantehene [King] of the Ashanti, Otumfo, Osei Tutu II of Ghana to Barbados to lay the foundation plaque. The building was opened in April 2010, The UWI said.

Principal, Professor Eudine Barriteau said the Cave Hill campus community, and the wider UWI family, fully supported the honour, given Sir Hilary’s 40-plus years of contributions to the development of the university, and his current leadership of the university’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is entirely appropriate for him to be saluted through the naming of that building in which decisions are made that give the institution its direction and governance. He is someone renowned for his decisive role and leadership qualities,” Barriteau said.

The Cave Hill principal also hailed Sir Hilary’s advocacy work in the areas of social justice and minority economic enfranchisement, adding, “He is someone who thinks ahead of the times. His emphasis on reparatory justice is one example.”

Sir Hilary served the Cave Hill Campus as the university’s youngest appointed personal professor, head of the History Department, and dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education before assuming the office of principal, which he held for 13 years, between 2002 and 2015.

The university noted that he is a globally distinguished academic whose wide ranging scholarship includes gender research, international thought leadership and transformational education administration. Sir Hilary has also served as a United Nations Committee official, private sector director of major corporations, and expert in sport history, science and practice. He holds Barbados’ highest national honour, Commander Knight of St Andrew, in acknowledgment of his distinguished service in the fields of education, culture and sport. He also holds the second highest national recognition from the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Sisserou Award of Honour.

The university noted that during his tenure as principal of the Cave Hill campus, Sir Hilary transformed the academic, funding and infrastructural environment, creating new and innovative programmes and facilities that enabled the campus to thrive. These developments meant that the enrolment of the campus could move from the 3,000-range to the 9,000-range, the university said. It added that along with the Owen Arthur regime, Sir Hilary successfully negotiated the acquisition of 50 acres of additional lands at the Lazaretto for expansion, reflecting the commitment to the quality remit.

Sir Hilary, commenting on the honour, stated, “My entire professional life has been dedicated to perfecting a contribution to the art and science of decolonisation and nation building within the context of institutional and public education. It has been by necessity a highly discursive experience, and therefore inevitably contentious. One’s head is always buried in the work at hand, and this expression of generosity from my peers gave cause to lift it and smile. I feel very blessed by this recognition and accept it as a tribute to all my very noble colleagues, staff and students, who I know worked and are working very hard for the campus and university, enabling our collective results to be viable, sustainable and visible.”