University of Guyana Vice-Chancellor Ivelaw Griffith has hailed a recent fundraising visit to the United States as a success as it has yielded both financial and human resources support from the diaspora for the university.
“New York Renaissance weekend will have a life of many years,” Griffith proclaimed last Friday, having termed the “fundraising and friend-raising” weekend a success.
During the period of September 1 to September 6, Griffith led a delegation of 12 individuals, consisting of administrative and academic staff and a student government executive to New York, as part of the university’s efforts to “cultivate ambassadors.”
Fundraising was done through events such as the ‘Vice-Chancellor’s New York Area Support Group Fundraising Reception’ and the Guyana Cultural Association of New York’s Folk Festival and Family Fun Day, during which times the delegation benefited from the sales of UG t-shirts and the Vice-Chancellor’s inaugural newsletter, ‘Renaissance.’
Griffith related that the amount of funds raked in from the activities will not be known until this week, when full financial statements are expected to be produced.
Aside from financial contributions, he said the group was able to procure commitments and shows of interest from persons in the diaspora who are willing to dedicate their time to the university, such as through teaching and serving as external examiners.
“The Renaissance weekend in New York has set the stage for considerable financial, human capital, and technical assistance to our university by providing structure to Guyanese and other nationals in the diaspora to support critical areas of need,” Griffith stated.
Meanwhile, the University stated in a press release that the objective of the project was to facilitate “tangible Diaspora Support Engagement” in four critical academic areas: Natural Sciences, Health Sciences, Law and Technology.
Dr. Michael Scott noted that the event provided an opportunity to share ideas and highlighted the importance of the academic community “as not just a localised entity, but one that engages institutions across their borders.”
Such engagements, Dr. Nigel Gravesande related, were satisfied by the agenda, as they were able to interact with the diaspora as well as with other colleges the university hopes to build relationships with.
The Vice-Chancellor also took the opportunity to introduce his new cabinet, which will become effective October 1. He noted that he had cause to do some expansion and reorganisation, as it was found that the university had an insufficient number of administrative staff. Occupying the positions are Dr. Barbara Reynolds, as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs; Dr. Elizabeth Ramlal as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Planning and Develop-ment; Dr. Nigel Gravesande, Registrar; Holda Poonai, Bursar; Jeffrey Walcott as Human Resources Officer; Dr. Fitzgerald Yaw as Assistant Director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives; Karen Wishart as Chief of Staff in the Vice-Chancellery; Dr. Paloma Mohamed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Designate) for Philan-thropy, Alumni and Civic Engagement; and Dr. Michael Scott as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Desig-nate) for Academic Engagement.
