The University of Virgin Islands is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year with a variety of events throughout the year.
The school, with campuses in St. Thomas and St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, is June’s Tom Joyner Foundation’s School of the Month.
As part of the year long celebration, its theme is “Honoring Our Past – Creating Our Future”. Dr. David Hall said he is proud to be the university’s fifth president, particularly at this time. “UVI was carved from a “stone of need” but has grown to become a jewel of the Caribbean,” he said on the company’s website. ” I am convinced that our next 50 years will be even greater than the first because of the wonderful foundation laid by those who came before, and the outstanding qualities of this present generation of students, faculty, staff and supporters. There is no limit to what UVI can achieve.”
In December, UVI will host a series of ‘Golden Jubilee Galas’ to cap off the year. The year kicked off with a series of receptions, including a groundbreaking for a new athletic field groundbreaking in St. Thomas. February featured a MAN-UP Male Empowerment Conference, a USVI Agrifest Conference and an Ideas and Issue Conference entitled “Old School – New School: Ideas and Issues”.
March, which was ‘Charter Month’, included a concert by R&B artist Indie.Arie and a special Reunion Choir Concert, dedicated to UVI’s second president, Dr. Arthur A. Richards, where more than 100 alumni participated. The Alfred O. Heath Lecture Series offered a symposium on the life and accomplishments of Edward Wilmot Blyden.
Founded as the College of the Virgin Islands, it opened in 1963. In 1986, it become the University Virgin Islands. It has about 2,700 full- and part-time students, offering associates and baccalaureate degrees.