The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus has earned a Citation from
the Society of College and University Planning for its expansion planning concept
drawings.
The UWI FIC Master Plan was selected for a Special Citation for Excellence in
Planning of a New Campus by The Society of College and University Planning
(SCUP) in the 2024 SCUP Excellence Awards.
The Jury comments are expected in late May.
“It is fitting that the first ever fully planned UWI Campus received this sort of
recognition. I am hopeful that the Antiguans and Barbudans will appreciate the
high standards being aimed at by the UWI within the Antigua and Barbuda space
even in the built environment,” writes one official of the UWI on hearing the news
of the award. He also personally congratulated prime Minister Gaston Browne for
his vision and dedication in bringing the university into being.
“This is an excellent moment for the government and people of Antigua and
Barbuda and the UWI. I put it in that order because the establishment of the Five
Islands Campus was really the results of a very bold decision by the government of
Antigua and Barbuda which took a decision that many people questioned to have a
landed UWI campus in the country. The award is therefore a tribute to that
boldness, the vision of the UWI family, particularly to include my predecessor,
Prof. Denzil Williams. I feel like an imposter here because in a way he should be
part of the celebration,” he stated.
The UWI FIC Principal takes the view that as the newest campus within the UWI
network, FIC benefits from some of that newness; including the fact that it will be
the first totally planned UWI campus. He noted that the other campuses grew in ad
ad hoc way over time but the UWI FIC has been planned from the outset and an
international firm, was engaged to develop the master plan so that the campus
would not evolve in an ad hoc manner.
“It is therefore a tremendous honour and tribute for the planning expertise within
the UWI, the vision within UWI and the government of Antigua and Barbuda, that
having taken the decision, to plan in concrete details from the outset, is now
reaping rewards like the citation from this global body which looked universities
across the world,” he declared.
SCUP unites a wide cross-section of professionals who are looking to advance
excellence in higher education planning.
