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Guardian Life of the Caribbean first signed a Memorandum of Agreement with The University of the West Indies (The UWI) in 1998, to underwrite a ‘Premium’ Teaching Award, initially for the St. Augustine Campus. Signatories were the then President of Guardian Life, Mr. Richard Kellman and Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Compton Bourne, Principal of The UWI, St. Augustine. Working behind the scenes, however, were teams of committed people led by Mrs. Betty Ann Rohlehr, former Programme Coordinator of The UWI’s Instructional Development Unit (IDU) and Mrs. Maria Mc Millan, herself a UWI graduate, and then Manager, Corporate Communications, Guardian Life of the Caribbean Limited.
The first awards were presented in 2000, with Dr. Kim Mallalieu “prima inter pares” (first among equals). Her work was subsequently further recognised by the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) in the form of the Distinguished Teacher Award. Later this year Dr. Mallalieu will be honoured with the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence. Dr. Shirin Haque, one of our 2002 awardees was also the recipient of the AAU’s Distinguished Teacher Award in 2004 and the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in 2005. Since the inception of The UWI/Guardian Life ‘Premium’ Teaching Award, thirteen lecturers from all of the five faculties have been honoured for their excellence in teaching.
The UWI/Guardian Life ‘Premium’ Teaching Award and Open Lecture Committees are chaired by the IDU Director Dr. Anna-May Edwards-Henry. Mrs. Maria Mc Millan, Group Vice President, Communications, Guardian Holdings Limited and Ms. Caira Cudjoe, Corporate Communications Officer, Guardian Life of the Caribbean Limited have been longstanding members of these committees along with the following UWI, St. Augustine personnel:
Mrs. Claudia Chesney, Manager, Learning Resource Centre
Melissa Gonzales, Assistant, IDU
Mrs. Dawn-Marie De Four-Gill, Director, Marketing & Communications Office
Mrs. Betty McComie, Campus Events Coordinator, Office of the Campus Principal
Prof. Margaret Rouse-Jones, University and Campus Librarian
Mrs. Deborah Souza-Okpofabri, Assistant Registrar, Secretariat Unit
Mr. Gerard Best, Communications Coordinator, Marketing & Communications Office
Ms. Christine Brown, Secretary, IDU
Due to the success of The UWI/Guardian Life ‘Premium’ Teaching Awards and Open Lectures at St. Augustine, they were introduced at the other UWI Campuses, with the first awards presented at the Mona Campus, Jamaica in 2004 and Cave Hill Campus, Barbados in 2005.
In 2007 Jamaica hosts a lecture with guest lecturer Dr. Joy Mighty, Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen’s University, Canada. Barbados will host an awards function with Joy Mighty, who was the Chief Judge also speaking at that event. St. Augustine just completed a successful lecture with feature Lecturer Professor Daniel Pratt, Professor of Adult and Higher Studies and the Acting Director of Clinical Educator Fellowships in Medical Education in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.
Premium Teaching Awards Ceremony 2008
Click to Download Bio of Maryellen Weimer
