UNIVERSITY of the West Indies (UWI) vice-chancellor Prof Sir Hilary Beckles has been appointed chairman/chancellor of the UN University.
In a news release on January 7, UWI said he was unanimously appointed by the UN University at the sitting of its governance council on December 7, 2024, in Tokyo, Japan.
"The UN University is a global academy, headquartered in Tokyo, with Research and Teaching Institutes in multiple countries. It is an academic and innovation Think Tank and research arm for the world community," the release said.
It said, "Noting that Sir Hilary has established a global reputation as a strategic planner in higher education, respected scholar, and thought leader in development thinking, the council expressed its keenness to work under his chairmanship as the university enters its 50th anniversary this year."
The position of chairman/chancellor is honorary. Its mandate is to facilitate the leadership of the rector/vice-chancellor of the university, and to guide the council "in a manner that sustains the confidence of international and internal stakeholders, primarily the leadership of the UN, faculty members and managers, private sector investors, and students."
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Sir Hilary has had a long and senior role in the affairs of the UN, the release said.
He has served in many capacities, among them as Consultant to the annual United Nations Development Report on Latin America and the Caribbean; committees on the Global Future of Higher Education; vice president and historian to UNESCO’s flagship initiative, The Slave Routes Project; and recently as joint editor of Volume 9 of the UNESCO’s General History of Africa series.
He has twice addressed the UN General Assembly, first in support of the international community's declaration of 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent; and secondly on matters of reparatory justice in a multi-polar political and economic world.
Sir Hilary has also addressed the UN Security Council, under the presidency of St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, on the subject of global peace in the deepening digitised North-South Divide.
Recently, the UN Academic Impact Committee voted UWI, as the global hub for Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action (SDG 13) on account of Sir Hilary’s lead in the establishment of UWI’s International School for Development Justice in 2024, aimed at delivery online postgraduate degree programmes on the SDGs.
He had earlier served as special adviser to UN general secretary Ban Ki-Moon on sustainable development, as well as current general secretary Antonio Guterres.
In accepting the appointment, Sir Hilary thanked members of University Council, representatives of the UN and other organisations, for their expression of confidence. He assured them that as the university enters its 50th year under the management of its esteemed vice-chancellor, and the guidance of council, it will continue to rise as one of the finest global universities.
He noted that his appointment is a signal honour for UWI, whose reputation and international connectivity will be enhanced as well as the Caribbean, the Hemisphere and in particular, emerging communities in the Global South.
