Biography of the Principal

 

Sir Hilary Beckles is Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal, and Professor of Economic and Social History, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.   Born in Barbados in 1955, he received his secondary education in Barbados and the United Kingdom and his higher education in the United Kingdom.

 

He holds a BA (Hons) degree in Economic History from Hull University and a PhD from the same University. In 2003, he received an Honorary Doctor of Letters for outstanding work as a scholar from his alma mater.  He joined the History Department at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus in 1979 as a lecturer; in 1984 he transferred to the Cave Hill Campus in Barbados and was promoted to a personal professorship in 1993 at age thirty-seven, the youngest in the history of UWI.

 

Sir Hilary has served the University as a Head of the History Department and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. In 1994 he won the first University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in the field of research.  In 1998 he was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Undergraduate Studies and returned to the Mona Campus. In August 2002 he returned to Cave Hill as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Principal. 

 

An internationally reputed historian and author, Sir Hilary has lectured at universities in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas and has served on numerous editorial boards. He is a member of the International Task Force for the UNESCO Slave Route Project and is principal consultant for resource material in the schools programme.  He is also Consultant for the UNESCO Cities for Peace Global Programme and an advisor to the UN World Culture Report. In 2002 he led the Barbados national delegation to the UN Conference on Race in Durban, South Africa.

 

Sir Hilary was knighted in 2007, by the Government of Barbados for his distinguished service in the field of education, particularly at the university level and his dedication to the furtherance of arts and sports, especially cricket.

 

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