UG’s NYC renaissance weekend garners massive support

A team led by University of Guyana (UG) Vice Chancellor, Dr Ivelaw Griffith, two weekends ago held a successful renaissance meet in New York, where pledges of support were made to Guyana’s premier tertiary institution.

Vice Chancellor Dr Griffith, along with Registrar, Dr Nigel Gravesande; Deputy Vice Chancellor Designate for Philanthropy, Alumni and Civic Engagement, Dr Poloma Mohammed; Vice Chancellor designate for Academic Engagement, Dr Michael Scott; Chief of Staff in the Vice Chancellor’s Office, Karen Wishart; and Human Resources Manager, Jeffery Walcott, visited New York, a response to an invitation from the Guyana Cultural Association of New York Inc.

UG’s Registrar, Dr Gravesande, said the team covered a range of areas including, but not limited to, interventions in areas of Law, Health Sciences, Technology and Natural Science.

According to Dr Griffith, one of the bold objectives of the renaissance project was to facilitate tangible diaspora support engagement in four critical academic areas including Technology, Health Sciences, Natural Sciences and Law. He said the visit to Medgar Evers College was particularly rewarding.

“The UG team toured the state-of-the art laboratories and met with the President and faculty from the College and discussed areas that could be further explored for future collaboration. At all the other engagements with members of the Diaspora, both the New York-New Jersey and the Guyana teams agreed at the meetings to forge new links by coordinating joint activities.”

He said the renaissance was able to cultivate additional goodwill for UG in the New York Tri-State area by inducting new UG Ambassadors, providing an opportunity for Guyanese (and others) in the Diaspora who desire to aid the rebuilding of the University of Guyana, to be able to do so. The main fund-raising events were the Vice Chancellor’s New York Area Support Group Fund Raising Reception on September 1, and the Guyana Cultural Association Folk Festival Family Fun Day on September 4.

The final event of the Renaissance weekend programme was held at a Hindu Temple in Queens, the Shri Trimurti Bhavan. It was sponsored by UG Ambassador Dr Dhanpaul Narine, who is also a member of the Vice Chancellor’s New York Area Support Group.

Further discussions were held on ways persons from the Diaspora could contribute to the university. Monies received from the ‘A Dollar for UG’ campaign that was launched in Queens, NY by Dr Narine, and t-shirts with the slogan ‘I love UG’ donated by Dr Narine and his family were presented to the Vice Chancellor. All contributions and proceeds from the sale were donated to the Vice Chancellor’s Fund for Strategic Initiatives.

According to Vice Chancellor Griffith, “the Renaissance Weekend in New York has set the stage for considerable financial, human capital, and technical assistance to our university by providing structure to Guyanese and other nationals in the Diaspora to support critical areas of need.”

Contributions of cash, scholarships and pledges, totalling over US$70,000 or G$14.5 million were the major outcomes of the first University of Guyana Education Resource Ambassadors Conference, which concluded at the Guyana Marriott Hotel. The three-day conference was held under the theme “Dreaming Resources, Doing Resources”.

The conference helped stakeholders to identify immediate-, short-, and long-term contributions and the realities facing the institution.