Mrs. Gloria Barrett-Sobers, Registrar and Director of the Administration at the University of the West Indies was recently honoured for her contribution to the professionalisation of higher education administration in the Caribbean at the 6th Annual Conference of ACHEA (Association of Caribbean Higher Education Administrators) which was held in St. Kitts/Nevis from July 5-8, 2006.

Recognising the critical need for university and college administrators to become better equipped to respond to the numerous challenges facing Caribbean higher education institutions, Mrs. Barrett-Sobers, with the active support of the University of the West Indies, launched the region’s first professional association for higher education administrators in 2000 and served as its first president from 2000-2005.

Governor-General of St.Kitts/Nevis, Sir Cuthbert Sebastian, Prime Minister of St. Kitts/Nevis, the Honourable Denzil Douglas, and the Minister of Education and Youth, the Honourable Sam Condor were all in attendance at the Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony which was held on Friday July 7 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort. Ms. Diane Mitchell, member of the ACHEA Executive and Registrar of the University of Technology, Jamaica, paid tribute to Mrs. Barrett-Sobers, speaking of her vision, leadership and prodigious capacity for hard work and productive collaboration as major factors which account for ACHEA’s continued growth and development.

This year’s conference attracted over 160 delegates and presenters from all over the Caribbean and as far away as New Zealand. Over the three days of the conference, participants engaged in stimulating discussions on a wide range issues which emerged from the conference theme of “Managing Higher Education in a Rapidly Changing Global Landscape”. The keynote address was delivered by Professor Arthur Levine, President of Teachers College, Columbia University who offered though-provoking perspectives on the future of higher education and the challenges which effective education administrators must embrace in order to be able to influence and shape the future of their institutions.

The University of the West Indies was well-represented among both presenters and participants, with over 75 participants from the UWI campuses and Schools of Continuing Studies in the non-campus territories. Plenary sessions were delivered by Professor E. Nigel Harris, Vice Chancellor of the University (Managing Higher Education in the Caribbean), Professor Clement Sankat, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering (Problems and Possibilities: Graduate Studies and Research at the University of the West Indies) and Mr. Jeremy Callaghan, recently appointed Campus Registrar at the St. Augustine Campus (Changing Structures for the 21st Century University). Other issues explored by presenters from the University of the West Indies include entrepreneurialism in the University (Linda Steele, St Augustine), the challenge of international bench-marking in accrediting regional programmes (Drs. Tomlin Paul and Satnarine Maraj, Mona), a critical examination of financing strategies in Caribbean higher education (Dwight Bryan, Mona), the importance of values-based leadership in preparing students for the global market (Farid Youssef, St. Augustine), strategic partnerships between academics and administrators (Cheryl Carter, Camille Charles and Halycon Prescott, St. Augustine), the impact of WTO-GATS on Caribbean higher education (Althea Gordon, Mona), the benefits and drawbacks of franchise education in the Caribbean (Ahmed Edoo, St. Augustine and Vivienne Roberts and Camille Morris, TLIU-UWI, Cave Hill) and a critical analysis of collaboration between faculty and library professionals (Karen Lequay, Cave Hill).

The presence of so many administrators from across the UWI campuses also provided an excellent opportunity for the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Hamid Ghany to engage UWI attendees in discussions on the new strategic plan and directions for the University of the West Indies.

Of interest also was a panel discussion, broadcast live on radio, on the topic of “Broadening Access to Higher Education in the Context of the CSME.” Panellists included the Minister of Education and Youth of St. Kitts/Nevis, the Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Professor E. Nigel Harris, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Training, Employment, Youth and Culture, Mrs. Angela Martins and Dr. Alvin Ashton, Vice-Chairman of the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago. Several strategies were discussed for empowering the smaller states of the Caribbean to confront the challenge of increased tertiary level participation.

By all accounts, the 2006 ACHEA Conference was a resounding success and ACHEA members are already looking forward to the 7th Annual Conference which is scheduled to take place in Barbados from July 4–6, 2007. Upcoming ACHEA events include a professional development workshop in Trinidad to be facilitated by the St. Augustine Campus Registrar, Mr. Jeremy Callaghan, the publication of the proceedings of the 2006 Conference and the establishment of the local Trinidad and Tobago and OECS chapters of ACHEA.