On the final day of the 2018 Graduation exercises, five hundred and eighty-two students from the University’s five schools and across its various campuses received their USC degrees.

The academic processions which took place in the newly constructed University auditorium brought scores of parents, supporters and well-wishers to the University’s Maracas Valley campus to witness the momentous occasion on July 1, 2018. 

Graduands from the USC School of Business and the School of Science, Technology and Allied Health walked the stage during the morning Commencement Ceremony which began at 9:00 am. The keynote address for this ceremony was delivered by Dr Richard Hart, President of Loma Linda University. Dr Hart’s message sought to inspire graduands to live out their best lives and pursue a passion. 

Among the many admonitions given to the Class of 2018 by Dr Hart was the importance of being a great leader, dealing with failure and gaining wisdom. 

Graduands from the School of Education and Humanities, the School of Social Sciences and the School of Theology and Religion walked the stage during the evening’s Commencement ceremony which took place at 2:30 pm. The keynote address was delivered by Dr Walter B.T. Douglas, retired founder and director for the Center of Diversity at Andrews University. In his address, Dr Douglas honoured his sister for her selfless decision to drop out of College in order for him to continue his education at the Caribbean Union College now USC. He boasted that his foundation was framed at this campus. 

Using the class motto and aim, Dr Douglas brought graduands into a deeper thinking about the role that they are now tasked with as they represent their aim and motto in the world: “Advancing Ever, Impacting Always” and “Created to Conquer, Molded to Endure.” 

“Are you prepared to pay the cost of your discipleship? How do you plan to live out the content of your aim and motto?” he asked.  

This year, Dr Douglas was the honorary degree recipient during the morning’s graduation ceremony. This accolade was bestowed on him for his continued dedication to Christian education, the University of the Southern Caribbean and the world at large. He was awarded Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. At the evening Commencement ceremony, Dr. Gordon O. Martinborough was the recipient of an honorary degree, Doctor of Divinity, bestowed on him for his dedication to the church and to Christian education. 

Present at the event was the Honorable Michael S. Brown, Minister of Education of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. Minister Brown attended the Commencement exercises in support of the first cohort of graduates from Antigua who successfully completed a Bachelors in Special Education through an MOU signed with USC and the Antiguan Government under the previous administration. He spoke to the audience expressing his delight for the group of 12 graduands. 

Also, among the graduands was a family of four, a father, mother and their two sons who all graduated with honours from USC. This significant accomplishment was highlighted by Dr Hilary Bowman, University President, during his promulgation address. “I believe that USC is the only Caribbean university where a family of five could attend without the necessary funds and graduate as a family of four with one still a student at the university…he said”

In his address, Dr Bowman also pointed out several new developments toward which the University is working, among them, discussions with the renowned Johns Hopkins University, USA, to form an academic alliance to offer the Nurse Practitioner’s Program which would lead to the DNP (Doctor in Nurse Practice) and allow Caribbean Nurses to Practice Nursing beyond the level of a registered nurse.

The graduation exercises were held on campus for the first time in six years since a fire in 2012 ravished the University’s then auditorium. This was made possible due to a monumental drive spearheaded by the University’s administration and stakeholders. The University offers over 45 undergraduate and graduate degree programmes across several disciplines and boasts of a diverse student, faculty and staff body. 

Highlights of the 2018 Graduation Exercises 

The University of the Southern Caribbean’s 2018 Graduation Exercises begin today, June 29, 2018 with the Consecration Service and ends on Sunday, July 1, 2018 with two Commencement Ceremonies. 

Graduands from the School of Business and the School of Science, Technology and Allied Health are expected to cross the stage to receive their diplomas at the first ceremony which begins at 9:00am in the University Auditorium, Maracas, Valley, St. Joseph.  

Graduands from the School of Education and Humanities, the School of Social Sciences and the School of Theology and Religion will receive their diplomas at the second ceremony which begins at 2:30pm in the University Auditorium. 

All of the weekend’s ceremonies will be streamed live. To view the various ceremonies, please follow the links below. 

Consecration Service – Friday June 29, 2018 | 7:00pm 

Baccalaureate Service – Sabbath June 30, 2018 | 10:00am 

Morning Commencement Ceremony – Sunday July 1, 2018 | 9:00am 

Evening Commencement Ceremony – Sunday July 1, 2018 | 2:30pm 

Alternatively, you may also view the live stream via our Facebook page 

Her Excellency, Paula-Mae Weekes, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago paid a courtesy visit to the University of the Southern Caribbean’s Maracas Valley campus on the morning of June 21, 2018. Her brief visit included meeting the USC administration and a group of students and also a campus tour, 

Her Excellency was sworn-in to office on March 19, 2018, making her the first female Head-of-State of Trinidad and Tobago. 

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The University of the Southern Caribbean will hosts its eighty-fifth graduation exercises from June 29 – July 1, 2018, in its University Auditorium, Maracas Valley, St. Joseph. Two speakers have been announced for the Commencement Ceremonies which will take place on July 1, 2018. 

Morning Commencement Speaker
Dr. Richard Hart 
President, Loma Linda University Health
Sunday July 1, 2018 | 9:00am 

Dr. Richard Hart currently serves as President of Loma Linda University Health, the umbrella corporation that includes the enterprise’s academic, healthcare, and research organizations. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from LLU School of Medicine in 1970, followed by a Doctor of Public Health in International Health at Johns Hopkins University in 1977, also becoming Board certified in Preventive Medicine.

Evening Commencement Speaker 
Dr. Walter Douglas 
Founder and Former Director of The Institute of Diversity and Multiculturalism at Andrews University.
Sunday July 1, 2018 | 2:30pm

Dr. Walter B. T. Douglas, is a native of Grenada and an alumnus of the former Caribbean Union College, now University of the Southern Caribbean. His embryonic training for ministry took place on these hallowed grounds. He was founder and director of The Institute of Diversity and Multiculturalism at Andrews University. Prior to serving as director, he served as Affirmative Action Officer and Ombudsperson for ten years. He also served for 35 years at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University as professor of Church history and History of religion. Ten of those years were served as Chair of the Church History department.

Through his varied professional experiences, Dr. Douglas has had the opportunity to work with and train hundreds of individuals in a diverse array of backgrounds and cultures. His distinguished career as an international lecturer and diversity consultant, has took him far off lands inclusive of Australia, New Zealand, several countries on the vast African continent, Asia,

South America, Europe, the Caribbean and across North America. Dr. Douglas has also published widely on issues of diversity, multicultural education, cross-cultural communication, institutional assessments, world religions, missions and Church history. He has won many awards and received various distinctions over the years.

The eighty-fifth Graduation exercises will be broadcast live from the University’s website and from the social media platform – Facebook. 

On Friday June 8th, 2018, Dr Hilary Bowman, University President made a presentation at the 5th Annual Medical Conference and Community Outreach Programme, hosted by Caribbean Medical Providers Practicing Abroad (CMPA) in Association with The New Jersey Medical Association. The event was hosted for the Caribbean medical diaspora & the Caribbean medical fraternity under the title “Ending the Needless Deaths in the Caribbean Due to Non-Communicable Diseases, Cancers & Strokes”. The CMPPA is actively involved in outreach and medical assistance in the Caribbean and aims at developing the quality of healthcare in the region. 

Dr Bowman began his presentation by citing several concerned authorities in the medical field across the Caribbean who all lament over the availability of skilled medical staff in the public sector. These sources state that while it may seem that we are producing many of these professionals, over half of these individuals end up functioning abroad.

He then went on to describe the state of training and the development of the role of such personnel, specifically nurses, and how the importance of nurses rose relative to the calibre of nurses through history. Even as this is so, there is a great need for training in the Caribbean as nurses play a critical role in providing the primary source of healthcare for most communities in the Caribbean and more so for the under-served and rural communities. 

A tremendous contributing factor to the quality of healthcare is proper recruitment and selection processes. These, of course are just the base concerns, as proper training and facilitation of thorough learning are key to an overall improved healthcare system.

He expressed gratitude and hope for the Caribbean as governments begin to join the train of proactive healthcare training and endorsing and supporting the institutions that provide training to these would be professionals. He noted that governments have a huge role to play in prevention of communicable disease through the improvement of the health care landscape through training and funding and they are endeavoring to do so.

A terrible disparity of salaries was highlighted as one of the main reasons for the movement of nurses to more developed countries, stating that until this worrisome situation is addressed, we will continue to experience the drain of professionals in this region.

Dr Bowman encouraged the professionals to have a more long-term approach to healthcare, and encouraged the development of preventative care across the region. He highlighted the benefits of this care in communities such as Loma Linda, the only BLUE ZONE (an area of unusually high quality of life and wellness) in the United States. 

He ended his presentation by admonishing attendees to pay attention to their own personal diet and lifestyle as a measure to improve the overall health of the region, and further encouraged cooperation between governments, communities and organizations such as the CMPPA as a means of effectively addressing and improving the state of healthcare in the Caribbean.

A third-year student of the University of the Southern Caribbean was yesterday adjudged the winner of the Guardian Editor of the Day initiative.

Abigail Frances Gittens, 20, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis on Communications could not contain her joy and screams when told of the good news.

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The University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) successfully executed its annual Colloquium exercises from May 16-19, 2018, under the theme “Project Confidence.” This year, the Colloquium exercises began and ended on a high note as faculty, staff and administrators came together to focus on team-building, confidence building and strategic planning in an effort to ensure a sustainable future for the institution.

On Wednesday, May 16, the team retreated to the La Vega Estate in Gran Couva for a fun-filled day. USC alumnus, Bertrand Moses coordinated an engaging session on work-life balance.

On Thursday, May 17, Dr. Leslie Pollard, President of Oakwood University, USA, delivered the keynote address on “Projecting Confidence in Decision Making & Governance for Sustainable Higher Education.” He emphasized the University’s need to persistently trust God’s leading, as this will enable the University to confidently present itself to the public. Colloquium 2018 also saw presentations from a few other notable professionals. 

Faculty and staff members were able to “Lime with a Vice-President,” openly discuss issues and offer suggestions for improving their various areas.

On Friday, May 18, the exercises ended with an award ceremony, and a charge to faculty and staff from University President, Dr. Hilary Bowman. He encouraged employees to be now more than ever, committed to the mission of USC and to assertively execute their duties as the University “Project’s Confidence”. A colloquium Sabbath service was held on Sabbath May 19, and was well attended by employees.

Many faculty and staff stated their excitement and the eagerness with which they look forward to next year’s Colloquium exercises scheduled to be held in May 2019. 

Photographic Highlight of Colloquium 2018     

The University of the Southern Caribbean’s (USC) Church and Mission Centre will soon become a reality as a date for the construction project has been announced, alongside a proposed date for completion. This announcement comes one month after a portion of the world church’s Sabbath mission offering was dedicated to the construction of the USC church. 

For decades, it has been a dream of the University to erect a building suitable for worship to God. Now, thanks to the support of church members and other generous donors, the building will commence on August 27, 2018. 

Dr Hilary Bowman, University President, has announced that a ground breaking ceremony will be held on July 2, 2018, one day after the scheduled graduation exercises. 

Pastor Terry John, Senior Pastor of the Caring University Church, and Vice-President for Spiritual Development at USC said that the church will feature specialised children’s Sabbath School classes, children’s ministries facilities, rooms for the choir, diaconate and baptistry, among other facilities. 

He also indicated that the Mission centre will include a training room, computer room,community empowerment centre and a counselling office. USC is a 90 year-old institution of higher learning which continually focuses on developing a solid spiritual ethos on its campuses across the region. 

On Thursday 3rd May, the History/Social Studies Department at the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) conducted a History revision workshop with the intention of assisting Secondary school students in their preparation for the History CSEC exam which begins on May 16th, 2018. 

The workshop which was facilitated by Dr Terencia Joseph, Mr Hayden Mckenna, Dr Fiona Rajkumar and Dr Loverne Jacobs-Browne from the School of Education and Humanities, focused on the areas of essay writing and the examination of past paper questions.

Twenty-seven (27) students representing 7 secondary schools were in attendance. The students who were from St. Jospeh’s Convent, St. Joseph, Hillview College, Lakshmi Girls High School, CUC Secondary, Eldorado East Secondary, St. Augustine Secondary and Bishops Girls Port of Spain, testified that the revision workshop equipped them with additional skills which will enhance their performance in their upcoming exams. One parent expressed her gratitude to department members for the initiative while teachers from the participating schools expressed their commitment to foster ties with the History/Social Studies department at the University of the Southern Caribbean.

This workshop is the second instalment of the History/Social Studies Department’s Youth Empowerment for a Stronger Society: YESS USC History CSEC Mentorship Programme which was launched in January of 2018.

The venue for University’s Eighty-Fifth Graduation Exercises has been announced. Graduating students from USC’s five schools will walk the stage of the soon-to-be-completed USC Auditorium to receive their diplomas. The events, set for June 29 – July 1, 2018, will see an approximate total of 550 participating.

For the first time in six years, USC will host a graduation ceremony on its campus. In 2012, an unfortunate fire destroyed the University’s auditorium only two weeks before the event was set to be held.

University President, Dr. Hilary Bowman and his administration have pledged their commitment to the completion of the building in time for the Graduation exercises.

On campus, sounds of men hard at work at an active construction site all signal that work is well underway. The building, upon completion will be able to seat 1700 individuals. It will also feature all the modern amenities of an auditorium.

It’s erection will also open opportunities for hosting events such as concerts, conferences, graduation services among others. 

Beginning August 27, 2018 also is the construction of the USC Church and Mission Centre. The long awaited building will become a reality through the contributions of members from the Seventh-day Adventist World Church, and through contributions made by stewards and friends from across the region and world.

The work is not yet completed and we still need the support of friends but we are confident that God will complete what he has started at this noble institution.