 ug honours first deputy vc prof harold drayton ug honours first deputy vc prof harold drayton ug honours first deputy vc prof harold drayton webmaster tue 6052018 939 the university of guyana ug is currently mourning the loss of its first deputy vice chancellor vc professor harold a drayton who died on sunday march 11 2018 in gaithersburg maryland united states of america on the occasion of the passing of this distinguished academician who was instrumental in the establishment of the university of guyana ug the university on may 23 last held a solemn assembly to honour his memory and celebrate the contributions of prof drayton to university education in guyana the venue was the george walcott lecture theatre on the university s turkeyen campus leading the programme was dr nigel gravesande registrar call to order was done by major general ret d joseph singh after which one minute of silence was observed in his honour among other items on a packed agenda were the homily by prof ivelaw lloyd griffith cch vicechancellor and principal of the university of guyana a poem looking at your hands by dean of the faculty of natural sciences mr calvin bernard reflections by prof ken danns father malcolm rodrigues sj and dr vonnalou drayton wife of the late distinguished professor prof emerita joycelynne loncke offered a choice musical rendition song without words acknowledging the erstwhile contributions of the late great first deputy vice chancellor vc ivelaw griffith on this solemn occasion made the announcement that ug is moving to memorialise the legacy of prof drayton in several ways one of which is to name and identify an edifice in his honour the vicechancellor said that the university has already begun the process to do this and will in time announce the edifice and hold a symbolic renaming perhaps on the date of his birth august 20 prof griffith said the university owes it to prof drayton and others who continue to do good works he said that not only was prof drayton part of a team with a dream for soaring the university to great heights but a key member of the let s do it team and one who laboured in the vineyard of the ug reflecting on conditions that prevailed on the university campus in the early 60s and the difficulties faced by lecturers and students alike to secure spots accommodation in classrooms on the campus before others prof griffith acknowledged that nevertheless there was a pioneer gaiety the spirit of camaraderie and sharing among staff and among students was evident and deputy vice chancellor drayton constituted a key element in that pioneering mix he recalled describing the university in 1963 as an act of faith prof griffith conceded that faith without works is dead and said that this is where dr drayton s faith came alive team player  meanwhile professor ken danns in his opening sentences lauded prof harold drayton s contribution to the university of guyana eulogising him as an example of a true son of the soil and activist committed to social justice a scientist a lecturer an academic administrator who placed the foundation for the development of ug and later became its first deputy vice chancellor and vice principal noting that the university of guyana is fully homegrown he acknowledged that prof drayton was the pioneer founder of the uniquely indigenous institution the first university reputed at the time as being the only higher educational institution in all the englishspeaking territories of africa asia and the caribbean created by colonial people he credited this outstanding academician with a passion for the university and the students he nurtured as a servantleader and a teamplayer but one who never consciously sought to stand out from the crowd to this end he submitted dr drayton stood out from the crowd and should be honoured because he was a pioneer from creation in the institutionalisation of ug he should be loved because he was a classy and charismatic scholar giving his best to his students he gave his best to the university and to his family he portrayed prof drayton as one who was and modelled what a university professor should be he likened him to a symbol of knowledge and a figure of authority prof danns admitted that it was under prof drayton s s tutelage that he had learnt to think critically adding that it has stayed with him since it was here that he purposed in his heart that he too would become a university professor and in time that dream was realised concluding on a sombre note prof danns declared celebrating dr harold drayton here today is remembering our noble past and humble origin at the university our pioneering role and uniqueness at the indigenous institution of higher education in the world harold drayton epitomised what excellent scholarship is  always helpful meanwhile father malcolm rodrigues sj eulogised prof drayton as one with an abiding interest in offering help to students needing help i must say that my memory of him is of a person who always made himself available to help those students who needed help whether they were doing a labour or were having difficulties with the sciences he would go over and be at their disposal i will definitely miss him and he will be missed by the students since he was trying to keep them at a certain level of intellectualism in a real sense i think his memory will live on in that way father rodrigues concluded meanwhile widow of the prof harold drayton dr vonnalou drayton amidst pain of loss of a wonderful husband mustered up strength and courage declaring with a sense of pride the creation of ug has been the crowning glory of harry s career and our presence today shows that we did prosper and prevail dr lou drayton noted that generations of guyanese including herself have undoubtedly benefitted from the presence of the university and many more will continue to do so and even though he left in 1972 to toil on distant shores his love for ug and the joy he felt on the evening of tuesday october 1 1963 during the inaugural meeting resonated throughout his life prof harold drayton his wife said continued to make significant contributions to ug especially the faculty of health sciences he had a passion for humanity and a real better world she said adding my husband harry did not just exist he lived life to the fullest those who knew him personally can attest to the exuberance with which he embraced life to the very end on may 24 the couple would have celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary said dr vonnalou drayton his passing has left a deep void but the joyful memories of our life together are very comforting harry was a good man and a wonderful husband and i am a better person for sharing the past 20 years with him dr lou drayton thanked the university of guyana community for embracing and supporting her and family obituary dr drayton born on august 20 1929 in georgetown british guiana was educated at queen s college in guyana and at the university of edinburgh where he completed a doctorate on cancer virology while serving as the first president of the federation of west indian student unions of the united kingdom he began his distinguished career as a high school teacher in grenada and jamaica in the late 1950s in 1962 he became a lecturer in zoology at the kwame nkrumah university of science and technology in kumasi ghana when he was recruited by dr cheddi jagan then prime minister of british guiana to establish the country s first university he graduated with a bsc honours in 1958 and a phd in 1960 from the university of edinburgh scotland his doctoral research in the biological sciences focused on the properties of cancer inducing viruses he studied and worked overseas for a number of years but on december 31 1962 at the invitation of dr cheddi b jagan he returned to what was then british guiana to assist in establishing ug in october 1963 when the ug was opened dr drayton became the first guyanese to sit on the administration of the university of guyana when he was appointed as the first deputy vice chancellor dr drayton also served the university in the capacity of head of the biology department and his initiatives there such as training of medical technologists among others would subsequently evolve that department into a full faculty of health sciences for the training of health care professionals he was head of the university s biology department from 1963 to 1972 during this tenure he introduced curriculum in social biology caribbean health sciences and training for public health professionals that was widely adopted across the region dr drayton also served as a caribbean regional adviser in human resources development for the pan american health organisation paho in barbados and was director for the centre for international health for the university of texas medical branch in galveston texas throughout his career he served as an adviser consultant and advocate to ug and guyana s ministry of health and was a consultant to the caribbean community secretariat dr drayton is survived by his wife dr vonnalou caleb drayton an epidemiologist and public health specialist at booz allen hamilton in washington dc his daughter ms alison drayton falzon and other relatives article adapted from  https guyanachroniclecom 20180603 ughonoursfirstdeputyvcprofharolddrayton harold a drayton 