The University of the West Indies (UWI) announced on Friday that it will confer an honorary doctor of laws degree on the first female vice-chancellor at the University of Oxford, Professor Louise Richardson, in the next two weeks.
The conferral will take place on Friday, June 10 in the assembly hall on the Mona campus, starting at 5:00 pm.
UWI awards honorary degrees to people of eminence in the arts, sciences or other field of intellectual endeavour; as well as those who have made outstanding regional or international contributions in areas served by the university, or otherwise.
Professor Richardson, a native of Ireland, was appointed vice-chancellor at Oxford on January 1 this year. She is a political scientist by training and is widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost experts on terrorism and counter-terrorism. Her publications include Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past (2007), What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat (2006), The Roots of Terrorism (2006), and When Allies Differ (1996). She has also written numerous articles on international terrorism, British foreign and defence policy, security institutions, and international relations; has lectured to public, professional, media and education groups; and has served on the editorial boards of several journals and presses.
Prior to the Oxford appointment, Richardson served as principal and vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews, which also has strong links to UWI. She spent 20 years on the faculty of the Harvard Government Department, and was latterly executive dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She served on Scotland’s Council of Economic Advisers and currently sits on the boards of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Booker Prize Foundation and numerous other charities.
Professor Richardson studied history at Trinity College, Dublin, before gaining her PhD at Harvard University in the US. Her awards include the Sumner Prize for work towards the prevention of war and the establishment of universal peace, Harvard’s Centennial Medal, and honorary doctorates from MGIMO University, Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Aberdeen. In 2015 she became an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy.
Commenting on the recommendation for the conferral, UWI Vice-Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles described Professor Richardson as being very conscious of the role of the Caribbean in building the reputation of UWI and Oxford, and noted that she had done much to honour the relationship, including serving as visiting research professor at UWI St Augustine in 2015; and inviting him, also in 2015, to give a lecture on a model for reparation at Oxford.
“UWI and the University of Oxford have had a long history of faculty-driven joint research and have been partners in many disciplines,” a statement from UWI said.
Sir Hilary hailed the progressive move by the UK university in promoting a woman to the upper ranks of its leadership.
“Professor Richardson is the first female vice-chancellor of Oxford University in its near 800 years. This is a seismic transition in the thinking of an ancient academy that has received dozens of distinguished Caribbean students and faculty. It’s a moment of celebration for women and progressive persons who have advocated for gender equity in leadership roles and demonstrates that even institutions like Oxford, with a history of exclusion of women in its highest positions, are seeing a removal of oppressive barriers,” he said.
During her visit to Jamaica, Professor Richardson will attend a number of UWI-related social events, including a luncheon to launch a scholarship fund in the name of former UWI vice-chancellors, Sir Alister McIntyre and the late Professor Rex Nettleford. The theme of the luncheon is The Ethical University — Poverty must fall: Empowering marginalised communities.
Vice-chancellor Beckles said that “former UWI vice-chancellors Sir Alister McIntyre and Prof Rex Nettleford are among a list of distinguished Caribbean nationals who are graduates of Oxford University” and that the scholarship “will provide funding for UWI students who need assistance with their fees and also give them exposure through short-term engagements at Oxford”.
UWI regulations state that honorary degrees shall normally be awarded at the time of graduation ceremonies. They state, however, that a special convocation for that purpose may be held at any of the university campuses with the approval of the university senate and finance and general purposes committee.
Source: Jamaica Observer