The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has announced the appointment of Dr Dodridge Miller as its 7th Chancellor — the highest office-holder in The UWI system. Now formally Chancellor-Designate, Dr Miller is expected to serve a seven-year term beginning August 1. He will succeed Robert Bermudez who has served as Chancellor since 2017.
At its virtual annual business meeting held on Friday, members of the University Council accepted the recommendation of the Chancellor’s Search Committee to appoint Dr Miller. As the sole authority that has the power to make decisions related to the leadership of the regional institution, the University Council is responsible for appointing the new Chancellor in accordance with established statutes and processes outlined in the University’s Statute 4.
Dr Miller, a graduate of The UWI, is a Caribbean luminary with more than 30 years of leadership experience in the banking, insurance, and financial services sectors. He was the Group President and CEO of Sagicor Financial Company for more than two decades until he retired in March 2023.
Dr Miller is globally recognised as the chief architect of Sagicor Financial, the largest financial services conglomerate in the region. He is credited with transforming the old Barbados Mutual Life Assurance Society into the Sagicor Caribbean group, and with strategic USA and Canadian investments, into the global corporation it is today. As a determined regionalist, he expanded Sagicor’s operations in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, and The Bahamas, and created a pan-Caribbean identity for the company.
Dr Miller is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA). He holds an MBA from the University of Wales and the Manchester Business School, and an LL.M. in Corporate and Commercial Law from The UWI, where he also served as a member of the Cave Hill Campus Council.
He has received several prestigious honours in his distinguished career, including the Order of Freedom of Barbados (FB), and from The UWI, an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2008 and the award of the title, Professor of Practice in 2019.
Upon the confirmation of his appointment, Dr Miller responded, “It is with great humility that I accept your appointment as Chancellor of this distinguished and important University. For most of my adult life, I have been an advocate for a strong, vibrant UWI. As a corporate executive I demonstrated my support for your mission and remained committed to the certainty of your path as you sought to build the capacity of the region’s human capital. As Chancellor, I will strive to uphold the strong principles and values of the University, and with your guidance and support hope to contribute to the very important task of fashioning a Caribbean that is sustainable and that can engage the rest of the world on equal terms. I look forward to being a part of The UWI’s journey towards the continued development of our region. I am honoured.”
In extending congratulations, Chancellor Bermudez said, “I am delighted to welcome Dr Miller as Chancellor-Designate. It is my belief that the University will benefit from his experience and contribution.”
Offering further details on the process, Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, who chaired the Search Committee that recommended Dr Miller for the post noted, “Dr the Most Honourable Dodridge Miller is an eminent corporate transformational leader who possesses all the required skills to make an outstanding Chancellor to his alma mater. The University community that knows him well is looking forward to working with him in this new role.”
The University of the West Indies community expresses its profound appreciation to Bermudez for his distinguished service.
