Issa

Correction & Clarification

Oliver Clarke is a former president of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), and a former chairman of the West Indian section of the defunct Commonwealth Press Union. Our A11 story yesterday headlined ‘UWI honours 16’ indicated that he was still serving in those positions.

The University of the West Indies (UWI) will confer honorary degrees on 16 individuals during graduation ceremonies on all the UWI campuses later this year.

At the Mona campus, John Issa will be one of those conferred with an honorary degree. He will receive a Doctor of Laws degree.

The university has lauded Issa as one of the most influential consultants and entrepreneurs in the Jamaican tourism industry.

A former senator in the Jamaican Parliament, Issa has served as executive chairman to SuperClubs International Ltd (which represents the Breezes chain of hotels) and its subsidiaries and as a director of GraceKennedy Ltd.

He has been credited with introducing the concept of all-inclusive hotels in Jamaica, thereby revolutionising the island's tourist industry. Issa has received more than 18 national and industry awards, including the Order of Jamaica (1998), Tourism Medal of Excellence (2001), Trail Blazer Award (2005) and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Travel and Tourism (2007).

Media enterprise

Clarke

Oliver Clarke, chairman and managing director of The Gleaner Company Ltd, is another recipient of the Doctor of Laws degree.

He is often credited with turning one of the oldest newspaper publishers in the region into a very successful media enterprise. He has not only revitalised Jamaican news media, but he is the co-founder of the Caribbean Media Corporation which is now the region's leading multimedia communication service.

He is also chairman of the West Indian section of the Commonwealth Press Union and president of the Inter-American Press Association.

He is the recipient of Jamaica's prestigious national honour, the Order of Jamaica.

For her achievements as a publisher and cultural historian, the Honorary DLitt will be conferred on Dr Anne Walmsley, the first Caribbean publisher for Longmans.

Professor Colin A Palmer will also receive a DLitt. A prolific scholar and historian, he has produced over 60 publications with several papers still to be published.

Maxwell

The degree DLitt honoris causa will be awarded to John Maxwell, veteran journalist and environmental activist. Involved in media since the 1950s, he has lectured at CARIMAC, UWI, as well as at UTECH, Jamaica. During his six-decade career, he has published over 1,500 columns and has been interviewed regularly by local and international media houses as an expert in his field. He has been an icon in public education, especially in areas such as decolonisation, democratic governance and related topics. Maxwell is a passionate and unstinting advocate for the protection of beaches and other environmental causes in Jamaica and throughout the region as well as for the political liberation of Haiti.

Other honorary degrees to be awarded

Cave Hill (Barbados)

Frederick Ballantyne GCMG (Knight Grand Cross), governor general of St Vincent and the Grenadines, will receive an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree

Paul Bernard Altman is also expected to be honoured with an LLD

Former Prime Minister Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford will also receive an LLD

Professor Zelma Edgell is expected to receive a DLitt.

St Augustine (Trinidad and Tobago)

At the St Augustine campus graduation ceremony, Yesu Persaud is to receive an LLD

The UWI will honour petroleum industry pioneer, Robert B. Riley, with an LLD

Theatre artist and poet Christopher Laird will receive the honorary D Litt

Environmental activist Angela Cropper will receive a DLitt

The noted biographer, Prof Arnold Rampersad, will receive the DLitt.

Open Campus (St Lucia)

An LLD will be awarded to Dr Peggy Antrobus

Dunstan St Omer will receive a D Litt.