The Editorial Advisory Board of the recently-established University of Guyana Press (UGP) held its inaugural meeting on Saturday, January 20, 2018 at Duke Lodge, Duke Street, Kingston, Georgetown and laid the foundation for its work this year and beyond. The Board, which is headed by Professor George (Ken) Danns of the University of North Georgia and a former lecturer at The University of Guyana (UG), is comprised of distinguished scholars and respected professionals from within and beyond Guyana. UGP was established in 2017 following the signing of a partnership agreement between The University of Guyana and Ian Randle Publishers of Jamaica.

In addition to the local members, the meeting was attended by members from Belize, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and from New York, Georgia, and Florida in the United States. Members from Nottingham in the United Kingdom, Jamaica, and New York and Connecticut in the USA joined the meeting by Skype. Among the key outcomes of its work, the Board crafted UGP’s Vision, Mission, and What We Do statements to facilitate its operations, and decided on 13 publication themes, namely: Education for Sustainable Development; ICT; Economics, Trade, and Public Policy; Public Health and Policy; Indigenous Knowledge Systems; Integrated Natural Resources Management; Institutions and Society; Food Security; Social Protection and Policy; Climate Change, Energy, and the Green Economy; Globalization, Poverty, and Inequality; Restorative Justice; and Disaster Vulnerability and Resilience. Each theme has sub-themes.

In outlining its work plan for 2018 and beyond, the Board agreed to publish four sets of products: books, monographs, scholarly journals, and digital materials. In relation to books, the first is expected to be “Dynamics of Caribbean Diaspora Engagement: People, Policy, Practice,” which is one of the outcomes of the Diaspora Engagement Conference hosted by the University in July 2017. His Excellency President David Granger has agreed to write the book’s Foreword. In addition to manuscripts submitted for consideration, UGP will also solicit works in keeping with its themes and reprint classics of Guyanese history, politics, literature, and other areas.

As regards journals, it was decided to put on a firm footing the long-standing and respected University of Guyana journal called “Transition,” which has had a chequered publication history. Working Papers and Occasional Papers will be core monograph publications, with “The Renaissance Papers” being a part of the Occasional Papers series. The 2018 Renaissance Papers will publish the lectures delivered at the Distinguished Lectures named for Distinguished Professor CY Thomas, Professor Emeritus Sister Noel Menezes, and Dr Ulric Trotz, as well as the Professorial Lectures delivered by Professors Michael Scott and Paloma Mohamed.

To boost UG’s work in Biodiversity and its support of the Government’s Green State Initiative, the Board decided to launch a new journal, to be called “The Guyana Shield”, and it established a Task Team to help implement the decision. The Team is headed by Professor Percy Hintzen of Florida International University, and it includes Dr Ulric Trotz of the Caribbean Climate Change Centre, Dr Paulette Bynoe and Mr Alim Hosein from UG, and Dr. David Singh of Conservation International. The journal is expected to be a multilingual publication.

In addition to Vice-Chancellor Ivelaw Griffith and Board Chair George Danns, the meeting was attended by: Ms Christine Randle (Ian Randle Publishers); Professor Percy Hintzen (Florida International University); Dr Paulette Bynoe (UG); Professor Gomathinayagam Subramanian (UG); Mr Alim Hosein (UG); Dr Annette Insanally (UWI Mona); Dr Kimani Nehusi (Temple University); Dr Keith Nurse (UWI Cave Hill); Professor Olajide Oladipo (City University of New York); Dr David Singh (Conservation International); Dr Kelwyn Thomas (Morehouse School of Medicine); Dr Ulric Trotz (Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre); Dr Joseph Tyndall (University of Florida College of Medicine), and Dr Fitzgerald Yaw (UG). While Dr Dennis Canterbury (Eastern Connecticut State University); Professor Stafford Griffith (UWI Mona); Dr Penelope Seibert (University of Nottingham), and Mr Vivian Williams (Vivian Williams and Associates, New York), joined the meeting by Skype.

Ian Randle Publishers Managing Director Christine Randle led the meeting’s review of the work done so far on the UGP website, which is expected to be released at the end of February. A competition for a permanent UGP logo will be held soon. As well, Vice-Chancellor Griffith announced that the University of Guyana Press office will be staffed by the Office of Strategic Initiatives, with Ms Danniebelle Mohabir serving as Manager. UGP also has a Management Advisory Board, which is headed by Ambassador Ronald Austin, Director of the Foreign Service Institute. That Board will hold its inaugural meeting soon.

Board members applauded the formation of the Press, with several of them noting that it had long been promised. Indeed, Mr Alim Hosein recalled that his first job at UG in 1984 was to work with a UG Press that never materialised. According to Vice-Chancellor Griffith, “UGP is a historic milestone in the maturation of the University. It is an integral part of Project Renaissance, and it is intended to boost the institution’s research enterprise and overall credibility.” He also noted that the research and publishing pursuits will not be limited to academic staff, but will include post-graduate and undergraduate students, especially those in the undergraduate research programme.

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UG IN BRIEF

With a current enrollment of some 8,000 students, The University of Guyana (UG) has graduated more than 20,000 students who have gone on to successful careers locally, regionally and internationally. The University is also a major contributor to the national economy and to business and industry. Established in 1963 on a part-time basis with shared space at Queens College, UG moved to its own campus at Turkeyen in 1970 and expanded in 2000 with the addition of the Tain Campus. It now offers more than 60 Under-graduate and Post-graduate Programmes including Engineering, Environmental Studies, Forestry, Urban Planning and Management, Business, Entrepreneurship, Tourism Studies, Education, Creative Arts, Economics, Law, Medicine, Optometry and Nursing. Several online programmes are available and UG also offers extra-mural classes at four locations through its Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE). The UG also offers the opportunity for student engagement in debating, sports, and cultural, religious and professional activities.

Public Relations Division
January 29, 2018