THE University of the West Indies (UWI) has conferred the title of Professor Emeritus on Guyana-born retired academic, Stafford Griffith.

According to a release, the UWI announced on December 7, 2021, its conferral of the title of Professor Emeritus on seven of its retired professors from three of its five campuses. Among them is Guyana-born Professor Stafford Griffith who currently serves as a professor in the Faculty of Education and Humanities at the University of Guyana.

In announcing the conferral of the title on this distinguished Guyanese, UWI noted that Professor Stafford Griffith’s sterling contributions in teaching, senior administration, research, publication, outreach and public service, have significantly enhanced the regional and international profile of the UWI and the capacity and competencies of teachers across the Caribbean Region and the diaspora.

Professor Griffith retired in 2020 after serving The UWI for 15 years.
Professor Griffith’s tenure includes Interim Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Five Island Campus (2019-2020); Regional Director of the Office for Online Learning (2017-2019); Director of the School of Education and Deputy Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Education (2012-2017).
He developed the Master of Education in Educational Measurement programme for face-to-face and online delivery, which has produced measurement specialists who currently serve education institutions across the Region, including the tertiary level and the Caribbean Examinations Council.

The release noted that Professor Griffith also developed several specialised courses in Quantitative Research; Educational and Psychological Measurement; Advanced Educational and Psychological Measurement and Internal School-based Assessment. Additionally, he developed a comprehensive Study Guide and Resource Manual to support online teaching of these courses.

Professor Griffith’s record in research, scholarly work and public service has been transformative. His impressive publications include over 20 referred journal articles, many scientific/scholarly papers and technical reports, one book and two book chapters, and three monographs in areas related to various aspects of education.

The UWI noted that he received the Principal’s Award for Best Research Publication in 2016 for his book School Based Assessment in a Caribbean Public Examination. As a Specialist in Curriculum Development, Teacher Training, Measurement and Evaluation, he has advised many national and regional institutions and served as a consultant to national, regional and international organisations. He was awarded the Legacy Builder Award in 2018 for services to the Overseas Examination Council in Jamaica.

Professor Griffith’s career before The UWI includes Director of the USAID-funded Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Teacher Training (CCETT) and Pro-Registrar of the Caribbean Examination Council. Prior to this, he served as Assistant Registrar and Head of the Project Unit.

He was also Consultant/National Coordinator of a World Bank and Jamaica Ministry of Education Reform of Secondary Education (ROSE) Project; Director of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and The University of the West Indies Institutional Strengthening Project and Senior Education Project Manager at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Development Office/Caribbean. He has also held senior level positions on many national and regional commissions, committees and boards related to education, the release noted.