Professor Archibald McDonald
MB BS, FRCS Ed., FACS, DM (Surg) UWI
Professor of Surgery and Emergency Medicine

Principal’s Induction Speech
Induction Ceremony of Mona Campus Principal
October 29, 2013
6:00 pm
Duration: 30 Minutes

Salutations:

 
•    University Registrar, Mr. C. William Iton (Chair)
•    Chancellor, Sir George Alleyne
•    Vice-Chancellor, Professor E. Nigel Harris
•    Chairman, Mona Campus Council,  Dr. The Honourable Marshall Hall
•    Minister of Education, The Hon Rev. Ronald Thwaites 
•    The Reverend Garth Minott
•    Government Ministers
•    Deputy Principal of the Mona Campus, Professor Ishenkumba Kahwa
•    Registrar of the Mona Campus, Dr Camille Bell-Hutchinson 
•    Present and Former Principals of the University
•    Deans of Faculties and Other Members of the University Administration/Family
•    President of the Guild of Students, Mr Terron Dewar 
•    Leaders of the Trade Union
•    Representative of the Private Sector, The Honourable Douglas Orane
•    Members of the Diplomatic Corps
•    Distinguished ladies and gentlemen

Good evening. 

I am truly honoured and immensely humbled to be standing before you this evening as the new Principal of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. I am extremely touched by the kind words from all the speakers.  I am also honoured by the thoughtful greetings from The Honourable Minister of Education Rev. Ronald Thwaites and The Honourable Douglas Orane. Most of all, I am  grateful for the privilege  of celebrating this momentous achievement with you – my fellow colleagues, my family, friends, students,  as well as my public and private sector partners in education. I thank you all sincerely for gathering to celebrate this significant occasion in my personal and professional career, and for bearing witness to the official induction of the 13th Principal of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.

I do not suffer from Tris-kai-deka-phobia, but there are many reasons why the number 13 is associated with bad luck:
•    There were 13 people at the Last Supper. It’s said that Judas Iscariot — the one who betrayed Jesus — was the 13th man to take his place at the table.
•    Traditionally, there used to be 13 steps leading up the gallows.
•    There’s also a legend that a hangman’s noose traditionally contained 13 turns.
I have no intention of having my tenure as the 13th Principal of the Mona Campus expand that list of reasons.

In preparing my message for this evening’s ceremony, I found myself grappling with a problem that I do not believe I have ever experienced to this degree in over three decades as a lecturer and a medical doctor. This problem manifested itself neatly in several seemingly easy, yet incredibly complex questions, the answers to which I still am still seeking.   These questions are:

•    How do I sufficiently express my sincere thanks and appreciation to an institution for moulding my career into what it is today?
•    How do I live up to the undeniably substantial and long-lasting contributions of my predecessors?
•    How do I sufficiently outline my ambitions for this outstanding institution as its new leader?
•    And, most important for all of you sitting in front of me with bated breath, how do I answer these questions in less than 30 minutes, without forcing the inevitable subtle glance downwards to your left wrists, or at your cell phones?
Let me begin by first acknowledging the most laudable contributions to the building of the University of my immediate predecessors, Professor Gordon Shirley, Professor Elsa Leo-Rhynie and Professor Sir Kenneth Hall, each of whom crafted unique styles in educational leadership that are worthy of emulation.

I am extremely humbled to have been asked to step into the ranks of these incredible trailblazers who have made significant contributions to tertiary education and the development of the Jamaican society. Whether being the first female Principal of the Mona Campus, or a Principal who embraces innovation and technology as our anchor for growth and sustainability, or even being the first Principal whose outstanding contributions to the development of our society has warranted him the award of the highest honour in Jamaica – all three of my predecessors have created a long-lasting legacy of transformative leadership at the University. And it is this legacy that I am humbled to now follow.

I am also looking forward to working and collaborating with other inspirational University leaders such as Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Professor Clement Sankat and Professor Hazel Simmonds-McDonald, the Principals of The other Campuses University. Their knowledge, stewardship and achievements thus far are impressive and worthy of emulation.  I will depend on their support of my own mission towards effective leadership of the Mona Campus.

As the first medical doctor to become  Principal of the Mona Campus, let me remind you that the two top officers of the UWI, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, are also physicians.  I am honoured to be given this opportunity to work in my new capacity with these esteemed colleagues.

I shall not claim any ambition to becoming the best Principal of the Mona Campus, or outshining the accomplishments of former leaders on whose shoulders I now stand. However, what I will promise you is that I will take on this leadership challenge with a determination to do my best, to strive for excellence and to make a significant and positive impact for the good of the UWI’s continued development. I will do the very best I can to continue and initiate efforts towards making the University not just the premier tertiary institution in the Caribbean, but one that has recognition on the global stage.

To this end, I will also embrace the sage words of an exceptional leader in the banking industry, Dee Hock, Founder and CEO Emeritus of Visa, who once said, “Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership is leadership. If you seek to lead, invest at least 50% of your time in leading yourself—your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, and conduct. Invest at least 20% leading those with authority over you and 15% leading your peers.”

At this point, there may be a few questions in your minds relating to my ability to effectively thrive in this new position. In response, I present to you not just my record of achievements to date, but my truth in the form of the individuals who have mentored me throughout my career. My truth is that I would not be standing here today without the support and encouragement of several outstanding individuals, and I will never be able to sufficiently express my gratitude to these scholars and colleagues. Regardless, I must recognise and thank Professor Emeritus Peter Fletcher – who gave me my first job as a lecturer in the Department of Surgery in 1987. I believe strongly that Professor Fletcher recognised a true and innate gift in me that I was not fully able to appreciate at that juncture in my life. I refer to the gift of teaching, of being able to inspire others to seek and yearn for knowledge, and to act as a crutch for students learning a skill that will forever transform their professional and personal futures. Professor Fletcher made me realise that there is no truer calling than to teach, and I have always striven to model my academic career from his teachings. His impact on my career and the high regard I now hold for this amazing profession can be succinctly defined in the age-old Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life".  Thank you, Professor Fletcher for teaching me how to fish and, I may add, to cook, among many other things. 

I believe that the University’s ultimate aim is to provide our students with the skills and abilities to sustain a productive and prosperous life for themselves and their families, and to make meaningful contributions to society. It is our responsibility to give our students the hope and the ability to fish for themselves, and to become future frontrunners in their respective fields, thus further imparting their knowledge and expertise onto the future generation. Ladies and gentlemen, it is through education that our society will achieve growth, and I am proud to now to lead an institution that is at the forefront of this development mission, all owing to the mentorship and dedication of Professor Fletcher and others.

I think I stand as a prime example that education is the most effective vehicle for social advancement.  I bring to the Office of the Principal no great family tradition of scholastic excellence; I was the first in my family, though not the last, to have the privilege of a University education.  I am eternally grateful to the taxpayers of Jamaica and the Caribbean region who funded my education.  However, I bring with me a passion for the development of Jamaica and the Caribbean.  I bring with me the utmost respect and admiration for my colleagues, and a competent and hard-working senior management team without whose support I would not have made it thus far. I bring with me respect for our students, and an understanding of the importance of diversity in our student population; a diversity which I believe is as important to their education as the learning experience gained in the classrooms.  I bring with me empathy for the growing number of students who face financial and social problems.

Professor Fletcher also instilled in me the need to commit to the social development of Jamaica when he charged me in 1988 with the responsibility of restructuring the University Hospital’s Casualty Department into an Accident and Emergency Department.  Emergency Medicine is the newest discipline in clinical medicine.  It brings one face to face with human suffering in its most brutal form.  It requires doctors and nurses who are caring and compassionate. It is for this reason that I endeavoured to successfully transform emergency care in Jamaica, giving rise to Jamaica’s first Accident and Emergency Department and the transformation of Emergency Care in Jamaica. I recognised that our doctors needed to be provided with the tools and facilities to achieve their goal to save lives, and I believed that our society deserved a facility (which was at the time a basic requirement in medical care for first world countries) that was equipped to safeguard patients’ health and well-being. I highlight this aspect of my professional past, not for the sake of bragging; I would not attempt to do that to such an accomplished audience. I refer to my past only to highlight my resolve and ability to bring about the same level of change and improvement needed to further transform the Mona Campus and the UWI into one of the leading Universities globally. Despite the substantial work that has been done in recent years, much like the old casualty departments, the University is in need of further transformation of its infrastructure, its administrative processes and its funding arrangements, all of which will support its transcendence into a world-class institution, comparable to the best of the Ivy League Schools. I am committed to ensuring that this goal is achieved.

I would also like to recognise my second mentor, Dr. Peter Wellington, who encouraged and guided my early career in surgery; a career that has taught me the value of precision, exercising good and well-calculated judgement, working with a team, knowing when improvisation is required and never leaving a job incomplete - all qualities that have served me well, and will continue to guide me in my career as Principal.

I must also thank my colleagues in the Department of Surgery and the Faculty of Medical Sciences who supported the growth of my career. I have no hesitation in saying that it is because of you that I am standing on this podium here this evening.

I thank my wife and children for their love and support over these many years.  Without your support I would not have made it thus far.  Thanks for putting up with me.

I would also like to thank my detractors over the years, whose negative sentiments have made me even more encouraged to achieve and attain new heights in my academic and professional pursuits; as Malcolm X so aptly noted, “If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success”.

Professor Peter Fletcher, Dr Peter Wellington, my friends, my colleagues and my detractors, all of you have ingrained in me the wisdom and integrity to become the kind of leader that this University requires today. I am grateful to you all for contributing to my growth, my success and the wisdom that I have gained.

In recent weeks I have been repeatedly asked the question, “what are your plans for the Mona Campus?” I have had a long time to ponder this question. It is a question that I have spent many years considering - through my involvement with the development of Emergency Medicine, then while I served as head of the Department of Surgery, again when I became the Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences and most recently when I was officially appointed Deputy Principal of the Mona Campus. From those early days of honing my skills as an academic and a University administrator,

•    it was clear to me that nothing would be achieved by maintaining the status quo. 
•    It was clear to me that the achievement of transformation, required bold and visionary leadership. 
•    It was clear to me that fear was not an option, as it only leads to paralysis and stagnation. 
•    It was clear to me that the creation of a genuine world-class institution in an environment where resources are limited required new thought processes and new approaches to problem-solving.

It is this experience that I will bring to bear as I take up the mantle as Principal of the Mona Campus.  It is this experience that has strengthened my resolve not to accept our poverty as an excuse for mediocrity, but to use it as the driving force in the search for excellence.

No discussion of future plans for the Mona Campus can be had without first referring to the tremendous work done by Professor Gordon Shirley during his tenure as Principal of the Mona Campus.  Thanks to his bold and visionary leadership I have inherited a Campus that is poised for success. Professor Shirley’s legacy will remain intact and revered by his colleagues and the student population, as his management lead to the construction of state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities and excellent student accommodations; and I fully intend to continue on that path.
 

The University employs the highest calibre of teachers that the best academic institutions can offer.  I dare say that we have excellent administrators who are comparable to those found in the best institutions internationally.  When I became Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, I pondered long and hard on my new role, as I transitioned from a clinician and active researcher to an administrator.  How does one lead a group of academics who are among the best researchers and teachers on the Campus and in The University of the West Indies? 

It did not take long to realise that, in addition to articulating one’s vision repeatedly until it is shared by others, in addition to forming partnerships, in addition to modernising outdated administrative processes and breaking down the barriers imposed by tradition, one had also to provide this excellent group of people with the right tools and facilities. Despite the excellent achievements of Professor Gordon Shirley, there is still much work to be done.  To use his words “we may be poor, but we do not have to wear our poverty on our sleeves.”  I express the same sentiments by reminding everyone that poverty is not an excuse for mediocrity.  Hence, during my tenure as Dean, the Faculty embarked on a brave journey which saw the construction of the state-of-the-art teaching and research complex with 12 teaching and 46 research labs.  But it is not just about the buildings; we started a programme of furnishing the labs with equipment that is comparable to that found in leading Universities worldwide. Our DNA and toxicology labs, of which we are immensely proud, are examples of this.

Further, as administrators, it is our duty to provide our students with adequate educational tools and equipment in order to foster their learning; failing this, our purpose as an academic institution would be thwarted. The next nuclear physicists from Jamaica cannot be taught using 20-year old Petri dishes and test tubes, nor can our tutors explain to them complex formulas and equations using a dusty chalk board. During my tenure as Principal, I will ensure that our students and staff have access to technology that is comparable to that found in the best institutions worldwide.  The funding has to be found, and will be found.

This brings me to the burning issue of the funding of tertiary education in Jamaica and the Caribbean. It is the intention of the Mona Campus to lead the discussions on this important topic.  Although I think the Governments of the region have a duty to provide some funding to public tertiary level educational institutions, the region does not have the resources to fund the quality education that the people of the region deserve, and which the University of the West Indies should provide.  A new funding model is needed, and this cannot be decided at a meeting, or even a series of meetings.  It has to evolve from our practical experiences.  The University must continue to diversify its sources of revenues through new approaches in its core business of teaching and learning, through a more meaningful engagement of our alumni, but also by taking a new approach to research and development.  Research by individuals who sit in an office and, having conceived of an idea, conduct projects that will result in the publication of papers in academic journals will always have a place in universities.   Anything less will stifle innovation and academic freedom, which are necessary for the creation of new knowledge.  However, under my watch, the Mona Campus will focus on research projects that are aligned to national and regional development. These research projects will be often indistinguishable from business activities.  To achieve this will require partnerships with public and private entities.  I am pleased to inform you that just last week I signed a contract with a North American Company for the commercial production of the Cardiac simulator developed when I was Dean, in my own Department of Surgery in collaboration with the Department of Computing.  This partnership will earn revenues for the University, but its real value lies in the enhancement of the reputation of our beloved institution.  Every machine will have a label which identifies the UWI as the inventor.  The experience learned from this will serve us well in the future.  I thank the inventors, Professor Paul Ramphal and Dr Daniel Coore, and also Mrs Beverly Periera, our legal advisor who facilitated the discussions and ensured that the interests of the UWI are protected. 

The repositioning of our research enterprise will be the centrepiece of my transformational activities at Mona.  The Office of Sponsored Research is being re-organised to lead the new direction.  It will provide support for all our researchers: support from the stage of idea to completion and writing of the research papers.  But more important it will assist with the commercialisation of the intellectual property where appropriate.  It will also ensure that our limited funds and resources are directed to those projects that have commercial value, as well as those that have the potential to contribute to Jamaica’s social and economic development.  In all our Faculties, our research will complement our teaching in meaningful ways, not just in words.

The Faculty of Humanities and Education has resources that remain largely untapped.  It is my own view that the brightest people reside in that Faculty.  Certainly, that is where our most creative people work.  It is my intention to collaborate with the Ministry of Education and the Colleges  to develop a range of programmes in the creative industries, that will form the embryo of an industry in the creative arts, providing opportunities for our very creative young people to develop their diverse talents, and so enabling them to embrace their responsibilities as adults to take care of themselves and their families, and make meaningful contributions to the economic and social development of Jamaica and the Caribbean.

This University must also strengthen its support and promotion of our artists, writers, musicians, and actors, for they, as the storytellers of our histories and experiences, and protectors or our Caribbean identities, are a much too neglected group of people. 

 
I am determined to see that the University continue along its present path of embracing science and technology in the discipline of education. Technology in education has evolved considerably throughout the decades into a necessary and intrinsic facet of the global education system. In today’s tertiary and secondary level institutions smart boards, tablets, PCs and the Internet have been incorporated into the very fabric of the teaching and learning process. So much so, that teachers and students alike are sharing their lessons and knowledge with their counterparts across the Globe.

Informational Technology will be used not just to enhance our teaching,  learning and research on the Campus but will also be used to assist the Ministry of Education, our high schools and our colleges in their efforts to improve the quality of education in Jamaican schools.  Information technology will be used to give our high school and college students' access to UWI facilities and teachers.

As Chairman of the Jamaica Research and Educational Network (JREN) and recently appointed Chairman of the Board of Management of the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network (CKLN), I have explored some of the recent trends in deucation. The objective of JREN is to promote affordable and easy access to learning and research materials by creating a broadband network of collaborating libraries and academic institutions. This network provides students with the chance to connect with their counterparts across Jamaica and the region, thus allowing them to share ideas and knowledge in a formal classroom setting. JREN allows for the streaming of lectures and courses across the Caribbean, as does the recently launched Single Virtual University Space.  With the University’s involvement, I believe we can expand the scope of our academic reach to the wider global society. JREN and CKLN are not in competition with the UWI, and will actually complement and enhance the work of our beloved University. In so doing, our students will, without a doubt, gain immensely from the varying cultural, academic and social knowledge base of international students, and vice versa. This will have far-reaching effects on the performance levels of our secondary and tertiary students, as they will now be able to view learning from an international perspective, which will hopefully ignite a high level of innovative and critical thinking.


Finally, it is my intention to expand the scope of programmes being offered at the Western Jamaican Campus (WJC) in order to attract more international students to our University.  The Mona Campus owns three properties in Montego Bay and is in the process of acquiring another.  These properties will be developed to international standards though partnerships with local and international bodies.  It is my view that the WJC should be more than just an extension of the Mona Campus.  It should provide opportunities to explore new approaches and to develop a range of new programmes that are attractive to local, regional and international students.  My term as Principal will see the UWI significantly increasing its presence in Western Jamaica.

Time does not permit any further expansion of our plans for the Mona Campus.  I have merely given you some indication of key areas where you will see a difference at Mona under my tenure. 

However, I could not end this speech without making a few remarks for the benefit our students who, after all, are our most important stakeholders. Without students there would be no Principal and, in fact, no University. I ask for your patience in allowing me to make these remarks.

Students, I implore you all to take a moment to consider the significance of this event. Consider the many Principals who came before me, those individuals who started their University careers as students like yourselves and who committed their lives to asking questions, seeking the truth, engaging in debate and embracing the multifaceted differences of their colleagues in education. I ask that you take a step back and admire the men and women who marched in procession at the beginning of this ceremony, all draped in academic gowns in colours reserved for the University’s highest ranking officials. Imagine if you will, all the necessary hard work, determination and fight they placed into attaining this most revered status of academic achievement. Once you have all done that, I want you to now look to the future and imagine yourselves as these very individuals. As your Principal, my imparting words of wisdom to you is to always remember that you, too, are capable of attaining lofty heights in your academic, professional and personal lives. I dare you all to make becoming the future Principal of the University of the West Indies your life long goal; those of you who have no such desire, you, too, must make sure that you become the best at what you choose to do. By making this your lifelong goal you will be surprised by the many other accomplishments and accolades that will define your journey along the way. The University of the West Indies enhances lives and produces leaders and you have my full support as you take up this challenge.

Students, lecturers, researchers, staff and leaders of the UWI, thank you for this amazing opportunity.  I promise that I will do all in my power to make the Mona Campus the pride and joy of Jamaica and the Caribbean Region; and as our motto states, Oriens Ex Occidente Lux, the Mona Campus will indeed be a light shining from the West!

Thank you and good evening.