Professor Nigel Harris takes up post as new UG Chancellor

Professor Harris has held many leadership positions, including his most recent post as Vice-Chancellor of the University of West Indies and President of the Association of Caribbean Universities and Research Institutes. He also served as Chairman of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. He is internationally known for his work as a Rheumatologist.

Professor Nigel Harris takes up post as new UG Chancellor

The University of Guyana has announced that Professor Nigel Harris who is the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, has been appointed to serve as the ninth Chancellor of the University of Guyana.

The appointment took effect on August 26, 2015. Professor Harris who is Guyanese, has succeeded another Guyanese, Dr Compton Bourne, who served from 2009 to 2012.

 In commenting on his new appointment, Professor Harris said, “I welcome this opportunity to work with the leaders, staff and students of the University of Guyana community, as well as with government and other stakeholders to forge the growth and success of this institution so critical to the economic, social and cultural development of Guyana and the Caribbean.”

Professor Harris has held many leadership positions, including his most recent post as Vice-Chancellor of the University of West Indies  and President of the Association of Caribbean Universities and Research Institutes. He also served as Chairman of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. He is internationally known for his work as a Rheumatologist.

According to a statement from the University of Guyana, the new Chancellor graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Howard University  in 1968 and proceeded to Yale University, where he received a Master of Philosophy degree in Biochemistry in 1973.

He earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977 and returned to the Caribbean where he completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of the West Indies at Mona. He was subsequently awarded the post-graduate degree, Doctor of Medicine (DM) in 1981.

The University said Professor Harris has also acquired many notable awards including the Cacique Crown of Honour from Guyana in 2011, the Martin Luther King International Award that was received in Washington DC in 2010. And the 11th Congressional District of the USA declared February 11, 2015, the “Eon Nigel Harris Day” in recognition of his contributions to Medical Research.

Chancellor Harris is married to Dr C. Yvette Williams-Harris, a general internist and they have three children and five grandchildren.

The University of Guyana said it is honoured to have Professor Harris serve as Chancellor.

 

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