![First Medical Class outside Gibraltar Hall (1948)](https://antiguanewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/First-Medical-Class-outside-Gibraltar-Hall-1948--696x377.jpg)
October 4 is significant for The University of the West Indies (The UWI) as it marks 75 years since the official opening of its inaugural Campus in Mona, Jamaica.
On this day in 1948, The UWI (then called the University College of the West Indies) held its first class for 33 medical students—a chemistry lecture by Professor Dr. Cedric Hassall.
Among the 10 women and 23 men in that first class were Dame Dr. Ruby Lake Richards, who passed away earlier this year at age 101, and renowned Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Dr. Michael Woo-Ming, who is now the oldest surviving first member of the cohort.
Dame Ruby was regarded as one of Antigua and Barbuda’s outstanding medical professionals. Dr. Woo-Ming became well-known for his exceptional open-heart surgical services in Jamaica and the United States.
Among many others in the inaugural 1948 class, their achievements ushered the successes of generations of UWI graduates over the past seven and a half decades.
The regional university has grown into a network of over 250,000 alumni. It will confer degrees on over 7,500 new ‘UWI Pelicans’ as the 2023 graduation season commences October 7 and runs through November 11.
There is no sector of Caribbean society, including the highest levels of government, business, and civil society organisations in which UWI graduates are not found.
Over 25 have risen to Heads of Government or Heads of State; countless more are leaders of all professions – locally, regionally, and internationally.
Two of the three Nobel Laureates of Caribbean descent have direct ties to the University: Mona alumnus Sir Derek A. Walcott (Nobel Prize for Literature, 1992) and former Vice-Chancellor, Sir Arthur Lewis (Nobel Prize for Economics, 1979).
Its notable alumni include the current President of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 78), Ambassador Dennis Francis, and the current Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Carla Barnett, among many others.
Since January, The UWI and all of its campuses have been deeply engaged in yearlong celebrations to commemorate its jubilee milestone, under the theme: UWI at 75. Rooted. Ready. Rising.
A purposefully designed suite of initiatives and events continue to pay tribute to The UWI’s foundation as an excellent global university rooted in the Caribbean, but also spotlight its readiness, responsiveness and agility as a 21st-century enterprise, and one positioned as a development partner on a continuous rise.
In that vein, in its 75th year, The UWI has taken the bold move to rebrand its Open Campus to the Global Campus.
![](https://antiguanewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Chemistry-Lecturer-Professor-Cedric-Hassall-300x231.jpg)
The top-ranked academy is set to expand its higher education services to a global marketplace through the launch of its new International School for Development Justice (ISDJ), a first-of-its-kind school dedicated exclusively to supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the next generation of experts to tackle the world’s multiple challenges.
![](https://antiguanewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Dr.-Michael-Woo-Ming-211x300.jpg)
The UWI at 75 certainly is energised for the future, and focused on the region’s needs in 2050. Consolidating its beginnings, The UWI looks boldly and deeply into the future, focusing on claiming and owning its place among the best in the world.
![](https://antiguanewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Dame-Dr.-Ruby-Lake-Richards-205x300.jpg)
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I enjoyed your commemorative article on UWI on its 75th anniversary.
Were you aware that the late Sir R. Alford Walwyn was also a member of the first class of thirty three students to enter the university?
He practiced in Antigua for over 55 years from 1957 to 2012 when he retired and passed away in January of this year aged 97.
congratulations UWI……..kudos to the HON. GASTON BROWNE and ABLP administration for the VISION of UWI FIVE ISLANDS becoming a reality!
Wow, look how great everyone looks in the photo! Not the modern day chubby Antiguan
ONE THOUGHT OR TWO
FYI: The late Dr. Donald Edward Christian, FRCP, FACP, FACC was a pioneer in medicine and cardiology in the Caribbean.
” ‘Don’ Christian always had the ambition to be a doctor. He was influenced by a family physician in Antigua Dr. Luther Wynter.
‘Don’s’ childhood was spent in Antigua and he excelled in school and at sports (AGS).
“…..He was one of the selected few to be admitted to the inaugural class to study medicine at the new University College of the West Indies (UCWI) in
Mona, Kingston, Jamaica. There were eight hundred (800) applications for the thirty (30) places available. UCWI eventually accepted thirty-three (33) students to begin classes in October 1948. He arrived in Jamaica on September 28, 1948, at age (18) and disembarked the BWIA flight confidently bearing a tennis racket in one hand and a briefcase in the other.”
Full article: University of the West Indies :
https://www.mona.uwi.edu
Donald Edward Christian/West Indian Medical Journal.
“All knowledge in the world belongs to everybody in the world.”
Let us interact with humility, grace, honesty, good intentions!…..Be nice to each other!
Save our Humanity, Save our Youths, Save our Environment, Save our Soil!!!
Respect
ONE THOUGHT OR TWO
PS: donald edward christian/ west indian medical journal [email protected]
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