UVI Community Remembers 'Miss V'

Students, faculty, staff and friends gathered for a memorial tree planting ceremony for UVI alumna and long-time employee Junie Violenes - affectionately known as "Miss V" - on the St. Thomas campus on Friday, April 29. A celebration of her life, including the lighting of candles, poetry reading, music and tributes, followed in the Student Activities Center. Violenes died on Thursday, April 21. Funeral services will be held at Wesley Methodist Church, in Anna’s Retreat on St. Thomas, at 1 p.m. today - Saturday, April 30.

Susan L. Taylor Inspires Heath Lecture Audience

Celebrated editor, author and activist Susan L. Taylor inspired an enthusiastic audience with her presentation - the first of two lectures in the 2011 edition of the annual Alfred O. Heath Distinguished Lecture Series - at UVI's Reichhold Center for the Arts on St. Thomas on Wednesday, April 20. She speaks again at 6 p.m. today (Thursday, April 21) in the Great Hall on UVI's Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. Click on photo to view larger image.

Nursing Students Present Leadership Projects

Senior nursing students on the University of the Virgin Islands St. Thomas campus presented their senior leadership projects in the Ralph M. Paiewonsky Library on April 18 and 19. Topics included organ donations, potassium replacement protocol, advance directives, hypertension, drunk driving, sleep and hydration.

Naisha Williams with her poster presentation on breast health. In addition to making presentations to various community and UVI groups, Williams also gave presentations to fifth graders at the Gladys Abraham and Yvonne Bowsky Elementary Schools.

UVI St. Thomas campus senior nursing students with Prof. Dr. Maxine Nunez, far left, and Prof. Amy Burlar, far right.

UVI St. Thomas campus senior nursing students.

UVI Launches Center for Study of Spirituality and Professionalism

President Dr. David Hall, at right, presided over the establishment of the new Center for the Study of Spirituality and Professionalism at the University of the Virgin Islands on Monday, April 18. Dr. Gwen Sherwood of the University of North Carolina gave the keynote address on the subject of "Leadership for a Healthy Work Environment: Caring for the Human Spirit." Dr. Gosnell L. Yorke of Northern Caribbean University addressed "Race and Gender Interpretations of the Bible" during the afternoon session of a day-long seminar that was available to the public in UVI facilities on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John.

More information and photos are featured in a news release on the UVI homepage - http://www.uvi.edu/ - and from this direct link.

Student Employees are Rewarded at UVI

The University of the Virgin Islands St. Thomas campus celebrated National Student Appreciation Week April 10-16 with a series of activities, including the Student Employee Awards Ceremony where the Student Employee of the Year was announced. This year, two students tied for the prestigious Student Employee of the Year award. Organizers said that they were so impressed by Jessica Taylor and Alvaro deLugo that they bestowed the honor on both. Taylor is a student employee in the Accounting Department and deLugo is a student employee in the Athletic Department.

“It’s a pleasure to work in the Accounting Office,” Taylor said, noting that she has become a part of the UVI family. Curtis Gilpin, assistant athletic director and deLugo’s supervisor, said his department has never had a student employee as well-rounded and efficient as deLugo. “People at UVI and outside UVI ask what will happen when he leaves,” Gilpin said of the senior who will graduate in May.

The ceremony also included the Lighter Side Awards, which rewarded students in categories such as reliability, punctuality and best dressed.

Pictured: Student Employees of the Year Jessica Taylor and Alvaro deLugo.

UVI Students Entertain at Yacht Haven Grande

Students enrolled in Music 134 – Steel Band Ensemble – on UVI’s St. Thomas campus took time to share their island culture with cruise ship and megayacht visitors at the Yacht Haven Grande complex on Wednesday, April 13. Instructor Shenelle Warner, in the dark shirt, said her class, which meets for practice twice weekly, enjoyed the performance and the enthusiasm shown by their passing audience. Yacht Haven Grande, which includes a marina, high-end shops, fine dining and sea-side residences, occasionally hosts student performance groups from UVI, providing exposure to the University and entertainment for visitors.

UVI Celebrates Library Enhancements

Former Governor and UVI Professor Emeritus Dr. Charles W. Turnbull gave the keynote address Monday, April 11, at a library celebration that marked the beginning of National Library Week. The Ralph M. Paiewonsky Library has been upgraded, giving way to open stacks, glass-encased study rooms and a vibrant seating area. The Library's collections contain more than 100,000 volumes, which are available electronically via electronic compact shelving. Following musical renditions and the pouring of a libation, members of the UVI community listened as UVI Theatre student Natalie Opoku read from a historic document that described the College of the Virgin Islands' plans for the library.

UVI Launches Caribbean Green Technology Center

The University of the Virgin Islands launched its Caribbean Green Technology Center with a day-long symposium on April 11. The goal of the center is to protect natural resources by reducing waste and utilizing sustainable energy through research, education and public service. The symposium included presentations by energy and conservation experts and policy makers from Harvard University, the University of California, Auburn University, the US Department of Energy, the US Department of Interior, the VI Energy Office, the VI Water and Power Authority and the VI Waste Management Authority. UVI students in the College of Science and Mathematics gave presentations on their on-going projects. Pictured above: Center, UVI applied mathematics major Mustafa Mohammed explains his Building Efficiency Project where he examines A Sustainable Housing Renovation and Prototype to move the Virgin Islands to “net zero” neighborhoods, as students Mpho Sello, left, and David Mohammad, right, look on. Sello and David Mohammad also gave presentations. Pictured left: Caribbean Green Technology Center Director Dr. Wayne Archibald gives remarks.

UVI Hosts National Institute on Aging Meeting

The University of the Virgin Islands had the honor of hosting the Director’s Regional Meeting of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) on April 7 and 8. The two-day meeting, which was open to health and science professionals in the territory, addressed issues such as minority health and health disparities, grant writing and caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease. The keynote address was given by Dr. James S. Jackson, director and research professor at the University of Michigan. In her presentation titled “Perspectives on Ethnicity, Culture and Health Outcomes: US and USVI Comparisons,” Dr. Hedwig Lee said that according to research, Blacks in the Virgin Islands are healthier than Blacks in the United States.

Pictured top, left to right, Dr. Hedwig Lee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars at University of Michigan, Dr. Chyren Hunter of the NIA and Dr. Doris Campbell of UVI’s School of Nursing discuss Lee’s presentation. Pictured left, left to right, Deputy Director of the NIA Dr. Marie Bernard and Dr. Sidney Stahl answer questions about Alzheimer’s disease.

Five Vie for Miss UVI Title

Five young women will compete for the title of Miss UVI on Saturday, April 9. The Queens Selection Committee of the University of the Virgin Islands’ Student Government Association will host the Miss UVI Ambassadorial Competition at 7 p.m. in the Island Center for the Performing Arts on St. Croix. Tickets are $25, $20 and $15 and can be purchased at the UVI Bookstores on UVI’s St. Croix and St. Thomas campuses, as well as at Jackie’s Beauty Supply on St. Croix. UVI students Daniella Henry, Danielle Christian, Briana Henley, Shari Chryss Alfred and Shamelle Farrington are vying for the 2011-2012 title. Click to read news release.

Women's Forum Inspires Audience

Women of all ages and backgrounds attended UVI's Women's Month Forum "Virgin Islands Women in Leadership: Myth and Realities," held on March 29, in the St. Thomas campus Adminstration and Conference Center. The all-women panel consisted of (pictured from left) Memorial Moravian Church Pastor Rev. Dr. Winelle Kirton-Roberts, Vice President for Public Relations and Governmental Affairs of Innovative Corporation Jennifer Matarangas-King, VI Senator Nellie Rivera-O'Reilly, Superior Court Judge Audrey Thomas, and physician Dr. Audria Thomas.

The event included the panelists fielding questions about salary disparities between men and women, whether or not women or men were better bosses, high points and low points each has encountered because of their gender, and lessons they would give to toher women who want to pursue similar careers. It also included a series of personal questions that the panelists answered by raising placards that read "myth" or "reality" based on their individual curcumstance. Some of those questions included: "Women in leadership positions like yours have maids to clean their homes," and "Women in leadership positions like yours don't watch TV." The forum was sponsored by UVI's St. Thomas campus Division of Student Affairs.