Five honorary degrees will be conferred at the UWI, Mona graduation ceremonies which are being staged in three sessions, Friday, November 6 at 5:30 pm and Saturday, November 7 at 10 am and 5:30 pm. Recipients of honorary degrees are the Honourable John Issa, Mr. John Maxwell, the Honourable Oliver F. Clarke, Dr. Anne Walmsley and Professor Colin A Palmer.

At the Ceremony on Friday, November 6, 2009 at 5:30 pm Honourable Oliver F. Clarke, Chairman and Managing Director of the Gleaner Company will receive a 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 is the recipient of Jamaica’s prestigious national honour, the Order of Jamaica.

Also receiving a honourary degree on Friday, November 6, 2009 at 5:30 pm will be Professor Colin A Palmer, prolific scholar and historian who will receive a Doctor of Letters (DLitt).  He has produced over 60 publications with several papers still to be published. Professor Palmer’s range of scholarly interests is exceptionally wide, including areas such as history and black culture. Aside from his academic endeavours he has served the region in several community initiatives through the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

The degree DLitt honoris causa will be awarded to Mr. John Maxwell, veteran journalist and environmental activist at the ceremony on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 10 am. He has been involved in media since the 1950s, he was also a lecturer at CARIMAC UWI, Mona as well as at UTECH, Jamaica. Maxwell has been an icon in public education, especially in areas such as decolonisation, democratic governance and related topics. He 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.

For her achievements as a publisher and cultural historian, the Honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) will be conferred on Dr. Anne Walmsley on this occasion. She has devoted herself to producing and disseminating works of West Indian Literature and Visual Arts. Dr. Walmsley became the first Caribbean publisher for Longmans and was instrumental in having several Caribbean classics republished. Her deeply rooted interest in Caribbean culture and her efforts to ensure its preservation through her extensive documentation in over 39 publications has certainly merited the UWI’s recognition.

At the final 2009 Graduation Ceremony on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 5:30 pm The Honourable John Issa will receive a Doctor of Laws degree. This consultant and entrepreneur is one of the most influential figures in the Jamaican tourism industry. He has been credited with introducing the concept of all-inclusive hotels in Jamaica, thereby revolutionising his 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).