Kingston – The University of the West Indies (UWI) Wednesday announced that Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, has been appointed to the governing council of the United Nations University (UNU) for a six-year period beginning May 3.
It said that the main functions of the Council are to formulate the principles and policies of the university, govern its operations, and consider and approve its biennial budget and work programme.
“Council members are appointed in their personal not their institutional, national or regional capacity and selected based on their proven expertise in the academic, scientific, and educational abilities in discerning and governing educational and cultural trends,” according to a UWI statement.
It said the prestigious appointment comes against the background of Sir Hilary’s 2021 appointment to the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) committee of globally chosen scholars to research and report on the challenges likely to confront the global university sector by 2040.
“I am greatly honoured to be a part of the work of the United Nations University, and to contribute to its legacy of excellent governance. Further it is a great cause to serve the world’s university in an area associated with my lifelong engagement; how a university can be at once excellent and ethical in its performance,” the statement quoted Sir Hilary as saying.
The UNU is a global think tank and postgraduate teaching organisation headquartered in Japan. The mission of the UN University is to contribute, through collaborative research and education, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations, its peoples and member states, according to a statement posted on its website.
It said in carrying out this mission, the UN University works with leading universities and research institutes in UN member states, functioning as a bridge between the international academic community and the United Nations system. (CMC)
