UG honours 27 long-serving employees
Long-serving staffer, Lorainne McLeod receives her award from Vice-Chancellor Jacob Opadeyi
Long-serving staffer, Lorainne McLeod receives her award from Vice-Chancellor Jacob Opadeyi

THE University of Guyana (UG) honoured enduring staff members at its annual Long Service Awards ceremony held recently at the Education Lecture Theatre on the Turkeyen campus. 

Emeritus Professor, Winston McGowan addresses the gathering
Emeritus Professor, Winston McGowan addresses the gathering

The 27 Long Service Awardees included Dr Paulette Bynoe of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES); Ms Leila Carrington of the University Library; Ms Nicole Grant of the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS); and others with over 20 years of service.
Staffers who have served the university for over 25 years include Bernadette Ageday from the Faculty of Agriculture, and Hamawatie Singh of the Facilties Maintainance Department.
Those who have been a part of the university’s family for over 30 and 35 years are Rayman Khan, Centre for Information Technology; Jacueline Morris, the Bursury; Michela Cumberbatch of the Registry and Cherryl Edinboro,the University Library, among others.

A section of the gathering at the ceremony
A section of the gathering at the ceremony

The ceremony, themed: “Serving UG with our Hearts” was chaired by UG Registrar Vincent Alexander; he attributed much of his own success at the university to the awardees and expressed his appreciation to them for their years of dedicated service and years of hard work.
“We are sitting here as a unit, as a family to be a part of a ritual…however with far more substance that a ritual tends to mark over time. What we do can only be seen as a token and symbolic of being done from the heart with sincerity.”
The significance of the occasion was underscored by Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Dr Barbara Reynolds, who asserted that: “The significance of the occasion is important to all of those belonging to UG, in the context of which UG operates, financially and logistically as it requires dedication, tenacity and a great deal of optimism to provide quality service to the University and by extent the country.”
While the awardees could not receive a “Golden handshake”, the ceremony nonetheless paid respect and gave recognition from the university, particularly the staff, to their colleagues for a job well done.
Emeritus Professor Winston McGowan, in his feature address to the gathering commended the awardees for their contribution to the university, as it took more than time, it entailed endurance, fortitude, personal sacrifice and above all, commitment.
He highlighted the turmoil the university has trudged through and by extension its staff. During the 70s, Professor McGowan said,the university moved through a period of political turbulence,when even a great scholar such as Dr Walter Rodney was denied employment at the institution.
The staff were congratulated on their patriotism and loyalty, “You didn’t have to stay, you chose to stay.”
He encouraged them to reflect on the positives they have gained during their long years of service, and to take stock of their creative skills developed, noting that they have done things better endowed universities could not have, as they did not face the challenges the staffers have.
The University of Guyana in 1990, in recognition of the enabling qualities of members of staff, introduced its important annual calendar of activity, singling out members who have completed 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of dedicated service to the university community.
The gathering was entertained through performances by the National School of Dance, Ossie Nedd, Heart and Soul for Excellence and a dance interpretation by Dr. Seeta Shaw-Roath, done by the Aurora Performers.

(By Raveena Mangal)

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