The month of November was a big one for the country’s National University. Its Faculty of Management and Social Science (FMSS) held its Marketing Expos across its three campuses and its Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) held its Faculty Open Day and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Research Symposium.

The University of Belize’s Faculty of Management and Social Science (UB-FMSS) held its Annual Marketing Expos at its Belize City, Belmopan and Punta Gorda campuses, which aimed at highlighting our students’ entrepreneurial and innovative spirit and achievements.

The Twelfth Annual Marketing Expo for the Belize City Campus was held at the Belize Civic Center on November 13th under the theme, ‘Economic Growth in a Changing Society.’ This is the largest expo of the three, with a total of 20 participating teams. The Keynote Speaker, Mr. Ivan Tescecum – the Chief Executive Officer of Belize Telemedia Limited, remarked on the importance of technology for entrepreneurs, particularly as it relates to digital marketing. He stated, “Engagement with customers and potential customers alike through digital media like Facebook and Twitter can tremendously build brands your businesses’ brands and create positive awareness of your company and its products, which in turn will help to effectively sell your products and services, not just locally, but also internationally.” He concluded by encouraging the students to use their passion to fuel their drive and perfect their craft, because as he advised, this is what will make them successful.

Likewise, on November 14th and November 29th, fourteen (14) student teams from the Belmopan campus and thirteen (13) student teams from the Punta Gorda (PG) campus also held their annual Marketing expos at Belmopan’s Market Square and PG Central Park, respectively, showcasing their products and services. Like its Belize City counterparts, UB Belmopan and PG marketing students were evaluated for creativity, promotion, distribution, customer information, banner, packaging, mission statement, student energy, customer service, professional attire, and communication skills. However, what made these two expos unique were their choice to immerse themselves in the heart of their localities’ business hubs, where students directly engaged with visitors and customers alongside established vendors, gaining real world experiences in the fast-paced, competitive and demanding commerce environment.

UB Belmopan students were joined by Sacred Heart Junior College and Belize Christian Academy, whose business students also displayed products and other items for sale and by businesses such as Grace Kennedy Belize, Chicken Express and Western Dairies, who wholeheartedly supported our University and especially our students by providing samples of their products and other promotional items at the Exposition.

In a much similar fashion, the Faculty of Science and Technology also held its Annual Science Open Day and its First Annual GIS Research Symposium, where both events aimed at highlighting our students’ and our partners’ research abilities.

On November 15th, the Faculty, along with its partners, demonstrated the exciting and innovative ways that geographic information science and its technologies are contributing to Belize’s development in areas such as public health, telecommunications, agriculture and natural resource management. The symposium promoted the deliberate integration of GIS and its technologies in research, education, and application activities at UB and with our non-academic partners and how same can be used to address societal issues. The day was filled with presentations of individual projects and lines of scholarly activity being undertaken by Faculty and students that model the specialty’s convergent practices and included presentations by some of our partners – Ministry of Health, Belize Telemedia Limited, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry and the Environment, Belize Electricity Limited and Coastal Zone Management.

Likewise, on November 22nd, under the theme “Using Scientific Approach to Improve Stewardship of our Water Resources,” the Faculty also held its Annual Open Day. The Open Day displayed the different interesting and interactive applications of water management in science. The purpose of the open day was to display the different interesting and interactive applications in science to sustainably manage our water resources. Popular stops for many of the day’s visitors included the wine distillery and the yogurt factory. Visitors were also drawn to the electricity and magnetic experiments. An important addition to the open day was the robotics obstacle experiment, which had visitors amazed and entertained as IT students engaged in programming instructions in real time.

Different organizations such as Association of Protected Areas Management (APAMO), Oceana and Belize Natural Energy were also present and aided in demonstrating how the theoretical knowledge and concepts learned in science education translate into application and real world scenarios.

The President of the University of Belize, Professor Emeritus Clement Sankat, would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors who contributed financially, with contributions, as judges or as supporters. These events would not have been successful without your generous support. The University deeply appreciates the willingness with which you have and continue to champion our students.

The University of Belize (UB), with all the strains and stresses attendant to a blossoming national university, has achieved notable advances in recent years. This is immediately evident in student performance, in the caliber of faculty and most measurably, in the accomplishment of your alumni here at home and on the wider world stage.

May I, with emphasis, associate myself with the chorus of commendations for President Clement Sankat who earlier this month was designated an Honorary Fellow by the Commonwealth of Learning at the Ninth Pan Commonwealth Forum in Scotland. President Sankat’s achievement exalts not only his decades of pursuing educational excellence but his unique distinction elevates, in equal measure, UB and Belize.

When the invitation arrived to join you, what most excited me, spurring my acceptance, was the rare opportunity to speak with an incoming class of UB students. There is, of course, the abundant attention to ceremonies that mark the end of the education journey, at graduation. What an unusual chance, I thought, to speak with you, students, at the start, rather than the conclusion of this potentially exhilarating period of your personal development.

In the private sector, there is, as you may know, a tradition of preparing a forecast referred to as a “forward-looking statement” – this is a kind of fortune telling exercise that focuses management on outlining the future, a vital exercise that informs plans and programs for attaining real results. UB has a compelling forward-looking statement, the marvel of “producing graduates who are socially and ecologically responsible, analytical, self-confident, disciplined, ethical, entrepreneurial, and skilled communicators and who are committed to using these skills and values for Belize’s enrichment.”

What, I ask today of this incoming class, is your personal forward-looking statement? How exactly will these months and years ahead of you, these interactions and experiences, sculpt the kind of person you aspire to become?

It seems to me that this Matriculation Exercise is essentially an event of a union between your vision – the forward looking statement of yourself – and UB’s vision for you. Matriculation reminds you of how crucial it is for you to reflect upon your goals and ambitions for the remainder of your time at the University.

UB will be, in the final analysis, what you make of UB. Bear this in mind each and every day.

The Chinese proverb wisely counsels that “teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.” Today’s Matriculation formalizes the opening of this ceremonial entrance, confirming that UB, our nation’s most creative portal to individual and collective advancement, is now available to you.

Your enrollment, to be sure, comes in an epoch of rapid change and upheaval, some might even call it chaos, in academia and in the world. Consider one dazzling example – how technology has laid waste to the old notions of classroom learning, disrupted the structure of the workplace, and ultimately, reconfigured the very definition of the individual.

The ingredients necessary then for fulfillment, personally and as a national unit, evolve today with greater speed than ever before in the history of humanity.

What you can make of the UB experience will not, I caution you, provide answers to the daunting questions of your life and the fate of our nation, but UB will help you in arriving at the right approach to these awesome themes. And so much of your satisfaction, personally and professionally, will derive from the right approach.

CURIOSITY, CREATIVITY, COLLABORATION, COMMUNITY- CONSCIOUSNESS and CONSTANCY these are the five core qualities that I believe will most distinguish you, the traits that are indispensable to the most effective approach for learning and growth.

And as with any union, the effects of the symbiosis between student and learning institution flow both ways: you will shape UB as much as UB will shape you, thrusting upon you a unique responsibility, not only for your own advancement but for the success of the students that will walk in your stead. Allow me, if you would, just a few moments to elaborate on those five core convictions of the student who seeks what your school song hails as “the prize of knowledge.” Over decades of experience, in private, public and non-profit service; as a woman, a nationalist, a professional and as a mother, these values shine as brightly for me today as the time of my matriculation:

First, CURIOSITY, relentless curiosity that is a hallmark of lifelong learning. Do not shackle yourself with arbitrary boundaries, whether to the classroom, to your subject major or even to formal education. Embrace the adventure of relentless questioning, of the unquenchable thirst for knowledge, of the sacred pursuit of a better way. Progress, the critic Bernard Shaw, reminded us, is dependent upon the unreasonable human. Be unreasonably curious.

Second, nourish your CREATIVITY, ever mindful that human innovation is boundless. One of the most valuable public companies of our time, the iconic Apple, built its trillion-dollar appraisal on the simple assumption that human creativity is infinite. Creativity requires space, ample room for mistakes, tolerance for risk and as Steve Jobs discovered over his brief lifetime of nurturing his creativity and that of his associates, the rewards of genuine creativity can literally alter the arc of history.

Thirdly, small and fragile nations such as ours require teamwork, and so COLLABORATION is a key condition for success in college and the thereafter. Only last week, we came together to celebrate 38 years of Independence, an achievement that represented, and continues to represent, the pinnacle of a collaborative experiment in our young history. The diversity of talents required for the birth as well as for the survival of a nation state such as ours, and particularly one that is the subject of an aggressive territorial claim, is indicative of our immense collaborative potential. Harness this spirit of teamwork always.

Fourthly, a sensitivity to the well-being of the wider COMMUNITY may be the defining value of your generation, especially as the planet faces existential threats such as climate change, mass immigration and commodity-driven conflict. To bequeath a community, a country and in aggregate, a world, healthier than the one you inherited, is the environmental equivalent of the biblical golden rule.

And finally, “CONSTANCY is the complement of all other human virtues”, the philosopher enjoins us, and constancy in learning as in life has no equal. Never dither nor fritter away time. Life is short.

Hang these edifying banners boldly, five of them, along your education trail; And I submit that how you measure up against these values, will largely determine the destiny of UB and of Belize.

I have every confidence that you will each “drink deeply of wisdom’s fountain” and make your families, your faculty and this your homeland by the sea, so very proud.
Thank you

The University of Belize (UB) held a Naming Ceremony for its Faculty of Management and Social Science (FMSS) Building at its Belize City Campus on Friday, October 25th, 2019. University Leadership, Faculty, staff, government officials, students, community members and family members attended this historic ceremony to celebrate the legacy of Belize’s former and late Solicitor General and Senior Crown Counsel, Mr. Gian Chand Gandhi, who made a significant financial contribution to the University to be placed in its endowment fund.

Noted guests included Financial Secretary – Joseph Waight, who attended as the Executor of Mr. Gandhi’s estate, Justice of the Supreme Court, Mrs Minnett Bertram and Mr. Bertram, Former Director of Immigration – Mrs. Diana Locke, Consulate, Embassy of India – Mrs. Hotchandani, Commissioners and staff of the International Financial Services Commission, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Belize – Mr. G.A. Harrison Pilgrim and other Members of the Board of Trustees and Ms. Shefalika Gandhi – niece of Mr. Gandhi and her two children.

Upon arrival in Belize in 1978, Mr. Gandhi became a Crown Counsel at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). In 1982, he was promoted to be the Director of Public Prosecutions, and after four years as DPP, he was appointed as Solicitor General, a position he held for thirteen years. He reached the pinnacle of his career in the late 1990s when he was appointed and served concurrently as Legal Counsel in the Ministry of Finance and as Director-General of the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC). In his tribute to Mr. Gandhi, Mr. Joseph Waight stated, “… in keeping with his selflessness, generosity and love for Belize… Mr. Gandhi donated a large portion of his estate to the University of Belize. This donation is to the University’s Endowment Fund and will be used to support the training of young Belizeans for generations to come. By doing so, Mr Gandhi will continue to contribute to the growth and development of his adopted country that he loved so much.” In this vein, the University’s leadership and Board of Trustees found it fitting that Mr. Gandhi’s legacy be associated with the building that so visibly links the university, its students and faculty to Belize – that of its largest faculty, FMSS.

In celebrating her uncle, Ms. Gandhi cited, “We are proud of Gian’s illustrious career and in particular his accomplishments in Belize. Gian had been imbued, in ample measure, with qualities such as honesty, truth, decency. He was an intellectual par excellence and conducted himself with total dignity… [He was] a very good human being.”

UB’s President, Professor Emeritus Clement Sankat, in his Vote of Thanks, referred to Mr. Gandhi’s homeland of India, where he quoted India’s only female Prime Minister (PM) and second longest serving PM, the late Ms. Indira Gandhi, who championed the role and importance of education in development. “Education is a liberating force, and in our age it is also a democratizing force, cutting across the barriers of caste and class, smothering our inequalities imposed by birth and other circumstances.” He went on to note, there is no doubt that these words echoed in Mr. Gian Chand Gandhi and his family, beneficiaries themselves of India’s progress in Education and he concluded by stating that UB too shares these sentiments and that is why we at UB say “Education empowers a Nation.”

The University of Belize is pleased to not only honor this remarkable man with the naming of the FMSS building, but also, in commemoration of his life, it will host an Annual Gian Chand Gandhi Memorial Lecture commencing 2020.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, the Senior Management Team and Students, Faculty and Staff of the University of Belize, President Sankat wishes to thank the Gandhi Family, Mr. Joseph Waight and all those who attended this event and those who support the University of Belize.

The President of the University of Belize, Professor Clement Sankat, would like to express his profound thanks to all those who supported the 3rd Annual President’s Endowment Fund
Fete, which was held this past Saturday October 26th, 2019 at the Muffles College Auditorium in Orange Walk.

President Sankat wishes to pay particular tribute to the University’s many sponsors, especially Cuello’s Distillery, Love FM, Belize Bank, Dibary, Belikin Beer/Bowen and Bowen, BECOL, the Guardian newspaper, the Mayor of Orange Walk Town, Mr. Kevin Bernard, the staff at the Mayor’s office, the Principal of Muffles Junior College, Ms. Maria Johnston and our Chairman of the UB Board of Trustees, Mr. Harrison Pilgrim, without whose generous support, the success of this event would not have been achieved.

The University had a successful Fete with great and incredibly entertaining music: Rossy War and her troupe from Peru, Gilharry 7 and Super Furia from Corozal and Orange Walk Town, respectively. They all did an excellent job. The crowd swayed in unison to the rhythm of the music as they danced into the wee hours of the morning.

The President also wishes to thank all his Faculty, staff, management team and in particular all the UB students who worked tirelessly and demonstrated exceptional commitment to make this event a success.

More importantly, the President would like to thank to all who purchased tickets for this worthy cause. The University and especially our students are grateful for your support, as all proceeds from this event will go to making scholarships/bursaries available to deserving students to pursue higher education at UB. Once more, thanks to all who made this event a success and as we enter into UB’s 20th Anniversary in 2020, we look forward to seeing you at our 4th Annual Fete, which promises to be even bigger and better!

We will see you in 2020!

I am quite honored to be here with you this afternoon as we celebrate this milestone event in your academic, professional and personal development. It is a Rite of Passage as you seek to better equip yourselves to meet both our national development needs as well as the global challenges facing the world in which we live. You are the future leaders of this our beloved land; you are our nation builders; you are the caretakers of the next generation, you our innovators and visionaries of tomorrow, I congratulate you for making this important decision to seek higher learning. It is your individual and collective intellect, experience, ingenuity and knowledge that that will help to shape a new world order and will design the society we hope to become.

It is my privilege, then, to formerly welcome you to the University of Belize, our National Institution. This institution is tasked with providing you with a safe place as you challenge yourselves, and each other, to think outside of the box; to dissect preconceived notions; to examine new ideas and concepts; explore strategic new partnerships as you actively pursue programs at the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Education & Arts, the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Technology and Professional Development. You are among the most privileged in our young democracy. Hinged to this access to tertiary education is also a greater responsibility for yourselves, your families, your communities. The old-aged adage that to whom much is given, much is expected is a truism that requires that we bring your individual beliefs, talents, skills, abilities, hopes and aspirations to this institution. An institution whose mandate it is to foster sustainable development by investing in our most valuable resource: our people.

This university has attracted some great minds and has become a vital player in Belize’s national development agenda. As I understand it there are some 5,000 students registered here from all walks of life. The week of orientation is purposefully designed to afford you the opportunity to interact with the wider university community. Listen keenly to stories of those who will be sharing this journey with you. Your peers will serve as a vital reference point to your individual story. You will also learn from their experiences. These experiences will prove to be beneficial, as a part of your learning and as you transition careers of choice. It is therefore an IMPERATIVE to maintain an open mind and an open heart. You have a DUTY to glean, as much as you can, from the knowledge and expertise of your professors just as you have a sacred RESPONSIBILITY to add value to the UB experience by bringing your total self, your best self if you will, to this undertaking.

This path which you officially start today will require a great deal of commitment, discipline, perseverance, sheer grit and extra doses of personal resolve. It is not an easy undertaking but I can promise you this, that your time here at our National University will help to strengthen your character; will afford you the opportunity to explore differing ideologies; will nurture in you a new renewed respect and understanding of our rich, cultural diversity; will instill in you shared values; will help you to forge friendships that will be invaluable to you in every aspect of your life. It will be rich and rewarding and far more than having a command on the subject areas that you will be pursuing.

You are entering a good institution, one that we should all regard with a great deal of national pride. I say this because the Faculty and Staff continue to add programs that are relevant to our national development. Just about two years ago we witnessed the launch of the University’s first MBA Program. The University’s commitment to offering more to its student community is also reflected in the addition of the new Master in Educational Leadership Program which started in January of this year.

Via a Memorandum of Understanding signed with BELTRAIDE, the University Is embarking on initiatives to institute a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem as well as programs that supports the successful engagement of Small-and Medium Enterprises because it inherently understands the need to nurture a business culture where you can take ownership of Belize’s future prosperity.

There is access to the Regional Language Center and the Environmental Research Institute. The University also offers a range of extracurricular activities designed by to provide its community (students and staff) an environment where one’s holistic development can be kept in sharp focus.

So I wish to encourage each of you to Lean In. Lean, ALL THE WAY IN, as you embrace this exciting intellectual adventure. Take the quantum leap. Challenge the status quo. Ask the critical questions. Test the preconceived notions about what may serve us best as developing society. You have an OBLIGATION to seriously examine the concerns facing Belize’s sustainable development as well as the solutions proposed to address some of the sensitive issues that test the core of the norms and beliefs of which we have grown accustomed. As an academic that has skin in the game, you are EXPECTED to get involve not only in the good governance of the University but also in the national discourse that lend your voices to the good governance of your country.

It is my view that true learning comes from breaking the proverbial mold. It is not your job to simply confirm to what is but rather to put forward novel solutions that will address some of the wicked problems we experienced both here at home and as global citizens. Wicked problems such as: global warming, migration, crime, poverty and political instability; we carefully considered fiscal models that will support the best interests of Belize’s long term growth and future economic viability.

It was our Father of the Nation, the Right Honorable George Cadle Price that suggested that the work of nation building was a job for giants. I contend that it is a job for all of us. Let us never underestimate the difference we can each make for the good of our society and for the good of humanity. Education is vital to providing opportunities for our citizenry and to changing the trajectory of our socio-economic reality in a dynamic, rapidly changing global context. Much effort and sweat equity have been expended to ensure that our national university is well poised to produce citizens who are self-confident, analytical, ethical, entrepreneurial, socially & ecological responsible and whom are skilled communicators to enrich our society as a whole.

I encourage you to have FUN as you navigate this new chapter of your lives. Remain steadfast in your passion for a well-rounded education. And when this Chapter is done I implore you to become Ambassadors for the University of Belize. As you stand on this threshold my prayer is that you will each travel hopefully and that the journey will lead you to the fullness of all your dreams. I pray that the discipline of learning will be a continuous process long after you have successfully completed your academic program of choice. I firmly believe in the wisdom of Nelson Mandela that asserts that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world; and, if I may add, and to improve conditions and the quality of life for all Belizeans.

May God the Father guard and protect you on this journey. May He guide your steps and inspire your decision making. May He give you the strength and courage to answer the call of Nation Building. May He always bestow His richest blessings on University of Belize.

I Thank You.

The University of Belize (UB) at three of its campuses joined Belize in celebrating its 38th Independence. Our participation aimed not only to commemorate our independence but also to exert a concerted effort in promoting and instilling unity in our students towards achieving collective growth of the nation.

Our independence celebrations started with a flag-raising ceremony at our Belize City campus on Wednesday, September 18th, hosted by our BLUE Society – the University’s first co-ed fraternity. BLUE, which means Building Lifelong Utilitarian Experiences, held this event to stimulate unity, pride and patriotism within the University Community. This ceremony was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports, Hon. Patrick Faber; Minister of Human Development, Social Transformation & Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Anthony Martinez; the People’s United Party Area Representative for Caribbean Shores, Hon. Kareem Musa; the Mayor of Belize City, His Worship Mayor Mr. Bernard Wagner; the Deputy Mayor of Belize City, Mr. Oscar Arnold; City Councilor for MIS, Staff Development and Training, Youth & Sports – Mr. Micah Goodin; the United Democratic Standard Bearer for Freetown – Mr. Orson Elrington and Director of Department of Youth Services – Ms. Allison McKenzie.

As noted by BLUE’s founder, Faculty member Ms. Raisa Pipersburgh, “As we are all gathered here today there are a few things we may find common amongst ourselves as Belizeans: our love for our country, the respect for our flag, and the pride instilled in our hearts from our nation’s accomplishments. And as the country’s national university, we are delighted to organize and participate in the 38th celebration of Belize’s Independence that instills appreciation, joy, dignity, and honor in the minds of our student body and community.”

Our second event, which was held on Thursday, September 19th, was our annual National Service Day ceremony. UB students, faculty, leadership and staff joined together, under the guidance of the University’s Beautification Club, to beautify the different Campuses as a tribute to National Service Day. At this year’s ceremony, which was held on the grounds of the main campus in Belmopan, Mr. Dean Fuller of Fultec Systems Limited, was the keynote speaker, who delivered an inspiring speech on the importance of volunteering, philanthropy and service to others.
UB President Clement Sankat also spoke on the importance of service. He stated, “Service prepares our Students and Faculty and Staff with the skills, knowledge, experience, as well as the determination to become leaders who wish to change the world around them… Therefore, through the promotion and encouragement of Community Service, the University is itself better delivering on its mandate to develop our students with the knowledge, skills and experiences for the world of work.”

Finally, on Saturday, September 21st – Belize’s Independence Day, students from both the Belmopan and Punta Gorda campuses participated in their respective municipal independence day parades. While both campuses participated in the parades to showcase their patriotism and love for country, in Punta Gorda, where participants vied for prizes for the best floats, the UBPG float placed first.

On behalf of the Students, Faculty and Staff of the University of Belize, Professor Emeritus Clement Sankat, takes this opportunity to thank all our sponsors and partners, who have continuously supported our students in their various activities. Your support helps our students to blossom into graduates, who are focused on change and development for Belize.

Coral reefs are an indispensable part of our natural heritage. They provide protection from storms, habitats for marine life, and livelihoods for substantial numbers of Belizeans. Today, our reef-building species are threatened by unsustainable anthropogenic practices and the overwhelming effects of climate change. Coral cover on our reefs has declined drastically, and with it, their ecosystem services. With this impending fear of loss of our reefs, academics, scientists, researchers, protected areas managers, and even environmental enthusiasts are exploring, practicing, and applying different conservation and ecological principles to increase the resilience of our reefs.

The University of Belize Environmental Research Institute has undertaken an effort to increase genetic diversity on reefs by facilitating coral sexual reproduction for coral reef restoration. This exciting application of scientific principles was shared by Dr. Anastazia Banaszak from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México: Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology in 2016. Since then, at the Calabash Caye Field Station in the Turneffe Atoll, genetic material of species of Acropora palmata, commonly known as Elkhorn, and Orbicella faveolata, commonly known as Mountainous Star Coral or Boulder Coral, were collected to facilitate generation of genetically unique coral sexual recruits. With each passing year, there have been successes and lessons learnt to allow for improvement of the coral rearing process.

The UB ERI team along with four newly minted scientific divers in training students, collected coral spawn, fertilized gametes and nurtured new coral babies. Four of the students: Gabriela Ugarte, Daniel McLaughlin, Stavros Bardalez and Reynaldo Ortega, are from the first class of underwater research methods in the new Bachelors in Marine Biology who received training in scientific diving, to safely and efficiently conduct underwater research. The underwater research methods (MBIO2303) course was delivered by Dr. Leandra Cho-Ricketts, the dive safety officer and diving instructor for UB’s scientific diving program with the assistance of UB ERI’s two dive masters, Ninon Martinez and Alexander Navarro. The students were certified as rescue divers and taken through rigorous training, testing the limits of their physical capabilities to ensure that they have what it takes to work competently underwater. They spent seven days under the sea learning to save themselves and others, to navigate and recover items underwater, and to use a variety of underwater techniques to survey coral reefs, fish and other marine organisms.

We are proud to welcome them as UB’s first cohort of scientific divers in training. All they need to be full scientific divers is to complete a theory exam and obtain twelve research dives under their belts. This team of four student divers that accompanied us on the coral restoration work, had the priceless opportunity to put their newly found skills to practice. They saw and experienced first-hand the application of diving and research skills gleaned from their course, through the experiences of night diving and also laboratory work to maintain living specimens.

Acropora palmata are known to spawn between the second and eighth nights after the August moon in Mesoamerican Region. In anticipation of this, the UB ERI staff, interns, and University of Belize student volunteers headed out to Turneffe to monitor coral for the release of their gametic material for collection. The nights brought worms, surges, and mysterious crustacean bites in mysterious places, but on the sixth night after the full moon on August 21st, between 8:00-9:40 pm, what’s described as a gentle yet incredible upside-down snowfall, coral spawning, made time stop. The beauty and awe-inspiring wonder of this event can’t be captured in any nature documentary. Immediately after the first moments, everyone was put to work, students were diving collecting the spawn and transferring it to snorkelers who quickly shuttled the bundles to the boat, where the gametes from different coral colonies were mixed to form new genetic identities. When spawning ended, everyone headed back to station to prepare the wet lab for the introduction of these embryos.

Over the next two weeks, like with newborns, our Marine Biology and our lone ranger nursing student and NRM graduates were up all night keeping the “baby corals” alive. Tracking phases of development and keeping conditions at the rustic station hospitable for their survival kept all busy and excited. When the coral larvae started seeking settlement in their “forever-homes,” a visit to the coral nursery to get settlement substrates brought excitement to the station. A fully identifiable, genetically distinct Acropora palmata, at least 5 cm in height, was thriving in the nursery. This marked the first coral recruit produced by facilitated coral reproduction in Belize by Belizeans. This discovery motivated all to continue with the good work and come up with more exciting plans and adaptations to restoration science.

We are looking forward to teaching more students about these techniques and the importance of science in our country for natural resource management and adapting to our reality of climate change. Complacency is not an option at the University of Belize; action is how we adapt and address our national concerns.

“The university is by definition universal and in it fit all tendencies and ways of being. It is therefore humanist par excellence and if we combine its definition with that of freedom, we will have a precious sum, since the freedom that the university seeks is that of the spirit.” – Doctor Mariano Fiallos Gil, Father of University Autonomy in Nicaragua.

On behalf of the Consejo Nacional de Universidades (CNU), the Consejo Universitario de la UNAN – Managua (Autonomous University of Nicaragua – Managua) and the Comunidad Universitaria nicaragüense, I warmly welcome you to Ordinary Session number CXIV of the Consejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano y Caribeño (CSUCA).

Our thanks to the honorable members of CSUCA for having accepted our offer to hold this session here in Nicaragua. We also thank Dr. Roger Armando Arias, Rector of the University of El Salvador for having given us the space and allowing us the honor of hosting the inauguration of his position as President of CSUCA for the 2019-2020 period.

We also thank Rector Clement Sankat for his leadership of CSUCA during 2018-2019 and for placing his trust in UNAN-Managua to accompany him in the implementation of his Medical Degree at his university and, of course, in his country Belize. The latter is an action that our School of Medical Sciences has taken on with great satisfaction because they represent exchange and mutual learning opportunities.
This project that we have initiated together with University of Belize is an example of academic integration among the member universities of the CSUCA, which must continue to be stimulated, because the universities are experiencing times of change, motivated by the dynamics of the social, economic, political and scientific contexts.

Consequently, Central American universities are called upon to strengthen the academic spaces of integration, helping us close the gaps between our highest houses of study and society in each of our countries, which in turn, requires dialogue with governments, with productive sectors, with communities, with unions and organized sectors, in order to achieve effective articulation in the process of production and generation of knowledge that contribute to sustainable human development.

I am sure that we are all aware that the university exists to contribute to the endogenous development of our countries; since autonomy facilitates our connection with society in general, the importance of rethinking our role as training institutions and generators of knowledge, i.e. science and technology through research and innovation.

In this increasingly convulsed context, universities must contribute to peace, promoting dialogue in all our spaces, encouraging assertive communication through active listening and making sound judgments based on the results of research we carry out on the events that generate conflicts.

In this sense, I would like to share with you that the National Council of Universities endorsed the program called “University for Peace”, whose objective is to promote the culture of peace and reconciliation in the university community through knowledge, the practice of values and attitudes of respect, solidarity and love of life, as a fundamental basis for peace, development and happiness of each Nicaraguan.

This in turn implies:
– Creating ongoing spaces of integral formation in values, based on the conception of education for the common welfare.
– Socializing good practices and life skills, from collective construction and education in values.
– Contributing to the educational, social, economic and sustainable development of the country, from a human rights approach and the promotion of a culture of peace.

Perhaps this topic is familiar to many universities in the region,. However, I think that by looking inside each of our universities and by reading the context , we see, on the one hand, advances in science and technology and, on the other: commercial war, organized crime, migration, discrimination, poverty. In both cases, we face ever greater challenges, which invites us to assume new challenges permanently: for example, to analyze within the classroom the great advances but also the great problems. This is, of course, in line with the role of teachers, who may, in turn, facilitate learning using the information available. The dynamic educational act will facilitate the understanding of the phenomena.

Our commitment must be to contribute to the development of critical awareness, to education in social values, such as altruism, solidarity, cooperation, which is why it is essential to address in the classroom, in addition to the aspects mentioned, themes such as love, affection, sexuality, ethics, peace, forgiveness, happiness and harmony. However, this is not to be done from the repetition of concepts but from the construction of experience, to achieve a rounded education. Similarly, it is necessary to reflect with young people on the implications of the false values such as fame, beauty, power and wealth, of consumerist society that are promoted through social networks.

When it comes to inclusive education, education for diversity, we must not only think about clearing away architectural barriers, but also we must get ready for inclusive educational actions. We are diverse, so we must also strengthen interculturality and gender equality.

I am aware that in all our universities we are rethinking our work, but the most important thing is that we reconnect the universities on the basis of trust to establish strategic and quality alliances that contribute to the achievement of the 2030 agenda and to the ODS. Let us make the essence of the CSUCA a reality, which is a model of academic integration in the region. Let us trust in our capacities and let us strengthen our universities’ autonomies to be and to do what corresponds to us in order to meet the needs of our people.

I conclude by welcoming you again to the 114th ordinary session of the CSUCA. Central America needs peace and our universities have great opportunities to contribute to achieving this. Therefore, let’s leave traces of changes centered on solidarity, mutual respect, trust and peaceful coexistence.
To freedom through the University!

Ramona Rodríguez Pérez
Rector of UNAN Managua
President of CNU
Managua, 19 August 2019

After braving CXCs, CAPEs, exit exams, applications and waiting for acceptances, the day finally arrived: Orientation Day for all UB’s freshmen students! Last week, July 29th to August 1st, 2019, the University held its annual orientation for our incoming students to kick off the start of their new academic year.

The turnout was great with over a thousand students participating in the four-day event.
The Orientation, which was held at the Belmopan campus in the auditorium and gym, was filled with friendly and excited faces, good food, and great insights to jump start their time as a student of Belize’s National University and to aid with balancing their academic and social life as a university student. The orientation was filled with fun and engaging activities to give new students the opportunity to socialize with their peers and an orientation leader to make friends before the semester starts in between informative sessions on student aid and personal responsibility, academic support opportunities, clubs, organizations, study abroad, undergraduate research amongst others.
Two key speakers at the Orientation ceremony were the President of the University, Professor Emeritus Clement Sankat and Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Martin Cuellar.

In his address, the President noted that the University of Belize has become a source of national pride, as it continues to seek ways to respond to the challenges facing Belize and the need for greater access to quality and relevant higher education in Belize. He concluded by saying, “You are coming into the country’s National University at a time of much optimism and excitement. The University is much stronger and enriched with more opportunities and services to optimize your potentials and prepare you with much success for a brighter future.”

And while the President’s speech focused mainly on the strength of the University, the Dean of Student Affairs advanced the notion of student life at the University. In his remarks, which was entitled “Let the Adventure Begin!”, he declared to the new students, “You are now about to start the most exciting, challenging and rewarding journey in your lives. Years from now, you will look back and laugh with pride, as you remember pushing your mind to create, analyze and write at levels you never thought you could reach. You will start new friendships, and the friends you make here will be the ones who will stay with you for the rest of your lives. You will also smile with pride as you recall the many ways that UB helped you grow into the humanitarian and professional you will become.”

At the end of the week, the evaluation from the four-day Orientation showed that 100% of those who attended reported feeling welcome into the UB family, while 95% of those who attended reported feeling empowered to successfully maneuver through UB and 99% of those who attended reported feeling inspired to participate in campus activities.

Undoubtedly, university represents the best days for many of our graduates. UB not only shapes our students’ academic future, mold their character appreciably, and imbibe a high level of empathy for Belize and its development aspirations, but also, UB presents our students with many adventurous opportunities for personal, cultural and social development and all they have to do to enjoy them is participate. Get involved. And when they do, they will discover what excellent UB graduates who have walked its beautiful campus grounds have known since its inception in 2000, you have to get in it to win it!

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Senior Management, Faculty and Staff, the President of the University of Belize, Professor Emeritus Clement Sankat, would like to welcome its over 5,000 new and returning students to the University of Belize.

To the family and friends, and especially to the graduates of the UB Class of 2019, what an honor it is to serve as your Commencement Speaker.

But before I start, I think it’s important that we answer some important questions. WHY was I deemed to be a good selection for this year’s graduation, and WHAT do I have to do with UB?

Well to understand that, you have to go back to the mid-1980s. Several American universities had begun trying to help Belize develop, but Belizean officials had trouble sorting through all those offers of help, and wanted an easier way to request from one source what was needed. An American educator responded to that call and assembled a group for what became the first meeting of the Consortium for Belize Educational Cooperation, or COBEC. His name was Tracy Harrington. Tracy spent the vast majority of his career at Valdosta State University – my university. Over the years, Tracy and Valdosta State University hosted many Belizeans, helping them to earn degrees there, but he also made sure that our faculty and staff at Valdosta State came here to help Belize grow its educational system. One student who studied at Valdosta was your own Minister of Education, and current Deputy Prime Minister, the Honorable Patrick Faber, who himself is a Valdosta State alumnus. People like Tracy and Minister Faber had a dream. They believed that investing in education could help individual Belizeans rise up out of poverty, and that an investment in education on a national level could help Belize become a clear leader of this region. Further, they believed that a partnership between universities such as Valdosta and Belize’s National University would be beneficial for all Belizeans. They were right!

And thanks in no small part to their initial dream, Belize has most definitely become stronger. For instance, in just the decade I have been coming, I have seen dramatic growth and development. Your primary and secondary educational system has improved significantly, as has access to quality healthcare. Tourism is thriving, and more Belizeans are creating their own businesses. And one aspect of a stronger Belize that Valdosta State is particularly proud of is the emergence of the University of Belize as a first-rate institution of higher learning capable of educating a new generation of Belizean leaders. In UB’s early days, American universities had to send faculty to provide the content and instruction for a fledgling institution. Now, American universities such as Valdosta enjoy mutual benefit from a partnership with UB, where faculty here are learning what it means to become leaders in their fields. And today’s large group of graduates – yes, you all sitting here in front of me – represent the better trained workforce that exists here in Belize because of your nation’s newfound ability to grow your own. Graduates – you are the outcome of all that has been done to turn Belize and its national university into the leaders that they are today!

And because you’ve done your part, and satisfied the requirements necessary to earn your degrees, you’re now ready to move on to whatever is next. Some of you will be teachers, others – leaders in business, government, health care, tourism, and other fields. But no matter what career you are pursuing, because you’ve made the investment in yourself that you have, there is now no limit to what you can be. You see, while I come from a country that boasts Hollywood stars and world-famous athletes, America, too, has poverty. I, myself, was once homeless, and I grew up absolutely understanding what it was like to struggle. I tell you that not because I think my story is special. But like me, you came to university because you wanted better for yourselves and your families. Many of you struggled to find the money to pay tuition and fees, and others of you left loved ones each week, or traveled great distances daily to get to your classes. You spent so many late nights studying, and you made countless personal sacrifices to not quit and keep going. And because you did that, your faculty, UB’s administration and staff, your family and friends, and I are all extremely proud of you. And you should be proud of yourself, too. This is your day, and we congratulate you on not quitting, and on getting to this milestone.

But as was said earlier, graduation is not a finish line. No, I instead think of it as your next starting line. You’ve earned the credentials you need to now pursue a better life, and we can’t wait to see you do that. But no matter where you go, there is a principle that I want you thinking about as you prepare to make that move. And that principle is best communicated via a story – a story I heard from former United States President, Jimmy Carter, who is from my home state of Georgia, and who the world recognizes as one of the most impactful humanitarians we’ve ever known. You see, I had the privilege of getting to know President Carter, and he shared a story with me that, he said, shaped all that he has become. And it’s a story that has had great meaning to me, and I’m hoping, it’s a story that will be significant for you, too.

Long before he became America’s 39th president, or before he won the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, he was in the U.S. Navy. He had risen up the ranks quickly, and at still a young age, he was granted an opportunity to interview for command of his own ship. He entered the office of the most important man he had ever met, and he sat patiently waiting for that commanding officer to look up from what he was doing and begin the interview. Finally, he did, and the officer asked young Jimmy several questions, which Carter confidently felt he had answered well, before indicating that he had just one question left. ‘In all those roles you’ve had,’ the man asked, ‘did you always do your best?’ The question – seemingly so simple – hit Carter between the eyes. He knew what he should say, but he also knew that his own natural abilities had meant that something other than his best had sometimes been more than enough. Knowing that his face would give away anything other than the truth, Carter admitted, ‘No sir. I did not.’ The man heard his answer, turned his chair, lowered his head, and went back to his papers. The interview was over. Carter got up, and slowly, and quietly, walked out of the room. He didn’t get that command he had so desired, but instead, what he got was so much more valuable. It was a lesson that he told me has stuck with him all his life, and ultimately landed him in America’s highest office. He learned that he never again wanted to have to answer that question with anything other than a yes – yes, he had done his absolute best.

So what will you do? What next challenge will you overcome? What new life goal will you be able to accomplish? And perhaps most importantly, no matter what comes at you, or what opportunity presents itself, how will you make sure that you always do your absolute best?

Years ago, when the obstacles in my life were at their worst – a family member gave me a simple gift – an inexpensive wall hanging with the famous poem entitled “Don’t Quit” inscribed on it. If you visited my office today, you would see a copy of this poem displayed near my desk. I look at it every day, as I have for most of my adult life, and its iconic words, “It’s when things seem worst, that you must not quit” remind me that everyone faces challenges, but a leader is one who continues to push forward despite those challenges. All of you have overcome significant obstacles in your life to get to this point. As we have noted, the fact that you are here today is evidence enough that you did not quit.

I’m told a famous Belizean saying goes something like this – “You can’t rest every day. Sometimes, you have to work.” Well graduates, today is a much-earned day of rest, a day to remember and appreciate all you had to do to get to this point, and, yes, a day of celebration. But tomorrow, with your degrees in hand, and hopefully, a desire to always do your best in your hearts, it’s time to go to work. Yes, it’s time to make the most of the investment people like Tracy Harington, Minister Faber, and, most importantly, YOU, started long ago – to make your lives, and the lives of your loved ones, better tomorrow than they are today. Become leaders in your careers. Make your families even more proud of you than they are today. And help Belize take its next leap and become even more prosperous for your children, and for your children’s children. And if and when you do that, the Class of 2019 will forever be known as the class that changed not just UB, and not even just Belize, but because of all that you will do, you will be known as the class that changed the world.

An edited version of the Commencement Address delivered on June 15, 2019 at the Belize City Civic Center.