The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is set to continue its tradition of recognising exceptional individuals who have made significant contributions to their fields. During the 2025 graduation ceremonies, 11 distinguished graduates will be awarded honorary degrees. These ceremonies are scheduled to take place from October 11 to November 8, 2025, across the five UWI campuses.
This year’s honorary graduands represent a diverse range of professions, each bringing decades of experience and impactful contributions in fields such as Music, Agriculture, Religion, Science and Research, and Aviation. The UWI Council approved the decision to honour these individuals, reflecting the institution’s commitment to celebrating excellence and innovation.
Below is the list of the 2025 ceremonies and the honorary graduands.
Five Islands Campus – October 11
- Professor Paget Henry – Caribbean Philosophy, Sociology and Political Thought – LLD
MORE ABOUT HENRY
Professor Paget Henry, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at Brown University, has dedicated his career to advancing Caribbean thought and fostering academic spaces for the study of African and Caribbean philosophy. Earning his BA at City University of New York in 1970, Professor Henry pursued graduate studies at Cornell University, where he completed his MA in 1973 and PhD in 1976. His early work involved research on the political atmosphere in Antigua and Jamaica, and then extended to research in Guyana, Trinidad, and Ghana. Throughout his career, he has specialised in Caribbean Political Economy, the Sociology of Art and Literature, Africana Philosophy and Religion, Race and Ethnic Relations, Poststructuralism, and Critical Theory.
Professor Paget Henry has influenced the Caribbean race and cultural discourse throughout the ages.
An author of several influential books including, Caliban’s Reason: Introducing Afro-Caribbean Philosophy (2000), Peripheral Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Antigua (1985), and co- editor of C.L.R. James’ Caribbean (edited with Paul Buhle-1992), his work weaves together philosophy, literature, politics and sociology within the Afro-Caribbean tradition and identity; expanding the global understanding of the Caribbean intellectual identity.
At Brown University, where he has taught since 1987, Professor Henry has been a mentor and guide to countless students. He has taught courses in Political Sociology, Critical Theory, Comparative Colonial Cultures, and the Socio-economic Analysis of Development, inspiring students to engage critically with issues of identity, power, and liberation.
Beyond his individual scholarship, Professor Henry has played a key role in institution-building within Caribbean philosophy. He has been recognised by The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education as being in the top thirty of most quoted black scholars in the humanities in 2003 and was awarded the Franz Fanon Award of the Caribbean Philosophical Association in 2003 for Caliban’s Reason, for the best book in the field of Africana thought within the previous five years. He has also received the Annual Award for Excellence in Teaching (Department of Sociology, SUNY, Stony Brook) from 1976 to 1979.
Professor Henry’s career reflects a lifelong dedication to advancing Caribbean philosophy, building intellectual institutions, and mentoring future scholars. His work has ensured that the voices of the African diaspora remain central in the global conversation on philosophy, literature, and Society.
The others are:
Cave Hill Campus – October 18
- Lyndon Gardiner – Aviation Sector and Regional Development – LLD
- Pierce Antonio Rudder – “Culturepreneur”- musician, cultural administrator, and entrepreneur – DLitt
St Augustine Campus – October 23 to 25
- Mungal Patasar – Musician and Composer – DLitt
- Professor Niranjan Kissoon – Global Health and Medicine – DSc
- Nigel Lewis Romano – Chartered Accountant – LLD
Mona Campus – October 30 to November 1
- The Late Honourable Donald Wehby-OJ, CD, Business Executive – LLD
- Marcia Griffiths-Music, Culture, and the Empowerment of Women – DLitt
- Bishop Robert Clarke – Preservation of the Revival Tradition – DLitt
- Professor Gene D. Morse – Professor of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science – DSc
Global Campus – November 8
- Sir Calixte George – Agricultural Consultant, Telecommunications, Former Minister of Government – LLD
As the regional university prepares to honour these 11 outstanding individuals, the 2025 graduation ceremonies promise to be a celebration of not only academic excellence but also the profound impact these leaders have made in their res
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