THE University of Guyana has recognised and honoured 59 employees for their dedicated and selfless service to the institution, and, by extension the country, for as many as 40 years.

While the disruptions in 2020 saw a postponement of the 2020 Long-Service Ceremony, this year, the institution was determined to honour both the 2020 and 2021 longest-serving staff members from its campuses. The event was held for a limited number of awardees only at the George Walcott Lecture Theatre, Turkeyen Campus, while their families, friends, colleagues, and other UG staff viewed it online.

Awards were given for 40, 35, 30, 25, and 20 years respectively with monetary gifts, certificates, and plaques in recognition of their dedication and commitment to the development of the institution, under the theme, ‘Perseverance’, a release from the university said.

Vice-Chancellor, XI, Professor Paloma Mohamed Martin, in her remarks, congratulated and expressed deep appreciation to the awardees for their tenacity, dedication, and selfless service offered to the university over the years. She also acknowledged the support and understanding of the families of the awardees.

“We love you, we appreciate you, and there is no way you have stayed for 40, 35, 30, 25, or 20 years because of the money or any fancy office, but because you are special. And every time we see a UG graduate, we know you had a part to play in that; you are the bedrock of this institution,” the Vice-Chancellor told the awardees.

She acknowledged that her administration is serious and working diligently in achieving student and staff success, which she noted is an integral part of the university’s Blueprint 2040 Goals.

In his feature address, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UG, Professor Emanuel Cummings, who was also awarded for serving the institution for 30 years, acknowledged the significant contributions made by each awardee and noted that it was the first time the university was awarding 59 of its employees at once, the release noted.

“We have stayed for 40, 35, 30, 25, and 20 years so as to continue producing skills for the development of Guyana. While others sought more favourable opportunities, we have continued to persevere over the years,” Professor Cummings acknowledged.

Chairperson of the ceremony, University of Guyana’s Registrar, Dr. Nigel Gravesande, also echoed similar sentiments. He expressed that the university was very fortunate to have such dedicated employees who worked very hard to ensure that students who entered the halls of the institution were supported in every way possible to be successful in their academic endeavours.

Citations detailing the progression of the employees over the years were read by Dean of the Faculty of Education and Humanities, Dr. Roslin Khan; Public Relations Officer, Krest Cummings; UG’s former Public Relations Officer, Paulette Paul; and Senior Lecturer, Al Creighton. The evening saw musical renditions by Ras Kamo Williams, Ezzie Crandon, Kwesi Cox, and Omiah Hall.

Delivering responses on behalf of the awardees were Calvin Bernard (2020) and Arlene McLean (2021) who reflected on both the challenges and successes they experienced in serving the university over the years. They both acknowledged that serving the university over the years was a fulfilling and rewarding experience which they would always cherish and that they were happy to be still on staff to be part of the positive significant changes being made in this particular period of UG’s history.

Given that the event was being held on International Men’s Day, each man present received a special gift and a celebratory chorus sung by all those present, the release concluded.