Dr Veronica Simon has been appointed head, Student Experience at The UWI Open Campus effective August 1, 2021. She has been assigned the task of conceptualising and implementing the operations of the new Student Virtual Concierge Unit (SVCSU), located in the Office of the Principal. She has served The UWI in her substantive role as head of The UWI Open Campus, Saint Lucia from 2007 and as deputy director (Ag) of the Open Campus Country Sites from 2019 to 2020.
During her tenure, Dr Simon can be said to have significantly expanded the operations of the Open Campus in Saint Lucia, by (among other initiatives) introducing new Certificate programmes in Theatre Arts and Creative Writing; instituting annual and other regular public lectures, e.g.
The Annual Patricia Charles Memorial Lecture and the regular community lecture series; securing a UNESCO grant for the establishment of the Roderick Walcott Special Collection at the Site library; taking the Site’s offerings to locations in Vieux Fort and Soufriere and creating strategic alliances with the Saint Lucia Folk Research Centre, the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Monroe College, the Global Environment Fund (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) in order to preserve the biennial Country Conferences. A native of Saint Lucia, she feels strongly that the presence and contribution of
The UWI should be palpable in every aspect of the society.
Prior to her administrative service to The UWI, Dr Simon held the position of coordinator of the Department of Continuing Education at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) in Saint Lucia from 2003 to 2007.
Here she also held responsibility for the two extension branches of the college in the south and the west of the island. During her leadership of this department, in addition to expanding the college’s Associate Degree programme offerings to mature students, she spearheaded the development of: St Lucia’s first National Defensive Driving course, first certified National Tour Guide Training programme, first National Taxi Drivers Training programme and first National Volunteer Training programme. She was also a member of the SALCC’s Management and Finance Committee, and its Academic Board.
Before becoming a member of the SALCC’s senior administration, Dr Simon was a lecturer at the Division of Arts and General Studies (DASGS) and the Division of Teacher Education and Educational Administration (DTEEA) at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) in Saint Lucia, for 14 years. During this time, she was a lecturer in the English Literature and Language Communication Departments, as well as in the SALCC/UWI’s Bachelor of Arts franchise programme at the DASGS.
When she moved to the Teacher Education programme at the DTEEA, where she trained teachers in Language Arts Methodology and served as the head of the Language Arts Department, she simultaneously served as a part-time tutor of Language and Communication for The UWI School of Continuing Studies.
A multiple graduate of The UWI, Dr Simon holds a BA (Hons) degree in English from the Mona Campus, an MPhil degree in Education, and a PG Diploma in Education from the St. Augustine Campus. She also holds a PhD in Education from The University of Sheffield. Her first foray into the field of Education began in 1976 when she taught for one year at the St. Joseph’s Convent Secondary School in St Lucia, at a very young age, immediately on completion of her ‘A’ Levels at the then St. Lucia A Level College (now part of the SALCC).
However, her actual career can be said to have begun after graduating with her first degree in 1980, when she taught literature and served for seven years as Sixth Form Dean at the St. Joseph’s Convent in San Fernando, Trinidad. Dr Simon’s service to the Caribbean region, particularly the OECS, is extensive.
(PR)
