Concert Choir Capturing the Holiday Spirit

With song for the spirit and sweets for the palate, members of UVI’s Concert Choir brought holiday caroling to the Administration and Conference Center on the St. Thomas campus. Fans of Christmas got to enjoy the movable feast twice in a day on Friday, Dec. 11, when the serenaders continued their performance in the Music Building later in the afternoon.

Seasonal Celebrations include a Fond Farewell

This year's holiday festivities at UVI included a fond farewell for Mavis Gilchrist, wrapping up her service of 32 years in the Financial Aid Office on St. Croix. She is seen here in this photo sharing a celebratory cake with well wishers on St. Thomas Dec. 10. Gilchrist was also guest of honor at a banquet held Dec. 5 on St. Croix.
In giving thanks she said she enjoyed every day of her work at the university.

Disney Magic Brings Holiday Cheer to Students on St. Thomas

Mickey Mouse and friends took time off from their duties aboard the cruise ship Disney Magic on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, to brighten the season for scores of St. Thomas students. The Disney characters, assisted by volunteers from the ship’s crew, greeted all the children and handed out gifts during a party at UVI’s Sports and Fitness Center. The children are enrolled in a variety of V.I. Department of Education and V.I. Department of Human Services programs. The activity was organized by the V.I. Department of Tourism and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association.

Turning Ocean Science Research into Management Practice

About 70 researchers, fishermen, government officials and graduate students learned the latest in marine science at the VI-EPSCoR conference, held at the Administration and Conference Center on the St.Thomas campus.

The theme for this year’s conference, held Dec. 4, was “Integrating Science and Management in Island Ecosystems.” The goal was to demonstrate ways to apply information gained through research in daily management practices.

The keynote speaker was Alan Friedlander, research biologist with the Hawaii Cooperative Fishery Research Unit at the University of Hawaii. UVI President, Dr. David Hall, delivered the lunchtime address.

EPSCoR is the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

VI-EPSCoR was established at UVI with a grant from the National Science Foundation in 2004.

Technological Advance May Yield New Course Offering

Stevie Henry from the Eastern Caribbean Center, right, demonstrates the Geographic Information System (GIS) at St. Thomas Dining Pavillion Nov. 25 to Paul Jobsis, left. Henry says the demonstration was meant to call attention to the different uses of geospatial technology and to let students know about a new course offering being developed around the GIS. No formal title has been assigned to the class yet but the subject, he said, will be geospatial technology and geographic inquiry. Henry said the course is intended to benefit students from different fields of study and is expected to be offered in the coming fall semester.

"Jam" Time '09 Set for Friday, 2 p.m.

Members of UVI's Reserve Officer Training Corps practice their steps a few hours before the opening ceremony for the 2009 Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament. UVI's Sports and Fitness Center on the St. Thomas campus provides the venue for the jam, now in its 10th year.

Paradise Jam features competition between top NCAA college basketball teams in the men's and women's divisions. Click here to view the matchups. The games are set to begin Friday at 2 p.m.. Portions of the tournament will be featured live, nationwide, on FOX Sports. Click here to check out the tournament via live via live video stream.

Consultant Barry Devine and community activist Sharon Coldren enjoy perfect weather (3.90 inches of rain in 7 hours recorded at the Cyril E. King Airport, background) for a discussion on sediment and storm water runoff on Nov. 16. They led a day-long discussion for scientists, engineers, graduate students and concerned citizens on sound land management practices after heavy rains.

There was also an introduction to mitigation efforts now taking place on St. John under the auspices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The project is called EPA-CARE, which stands for Community Action for a Renewed Environment.

The seminar, held at the UVI Administration and Conference Center, was sponsored by the Coral Bay Community Council and the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-ePSCOR). For more information contact UVI’s Center for Marine and Environmental Studies at (340) 693-1380 or send email to csetter@uvi.edu

VI SBDC Names Dannica Thomas 2009 State Star

Dannica L. Thomas, an administrative assistant at the Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center (VI SBDC), has been named the center’s State Star for 2009 as part of the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) annual recognition program. She received the honor for her “extraordinary contributions to the work of the SBDC and small businesses in the territory,” said VI SBDC State Director Leonor Dottin.

Thomas received the honor at the ASBDC’s 29th Annual Conference in September in Orlando, Fla. She said she was proud to serve as a “starting point for helping so many people achieve the dream of starting and succeeding in their own businesses.” The Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center is a partnership program of the University of the Virgin Islands and the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more information, call (340) 776-3206 on St. Thomas or (340) 692-5270 on St. Croix, or visit the VI SBDC web site http://www.sbdcvi.org/.

Dannica Thomas, second from right, was honored at the VI SBDC’s State Star for 2009 at the Association of Small Business Development Centers 29th annual conference. Also shown are, from left, Jerry Silberman, CEO and founder of Corporate Turnaround, sponsor of the 2009 State Star reception; Jerry Cartwright, 2009 chair of the ASBDC Board of Directors and State Director of the Florida SBDC Network; Carl Christensen, U.S. Small Business Administration project officer; Leonor Dottin, VI SBDC state director; Thomas; and Antonio Doss, associate administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Small Business Development Centers.

Students Zero In on Leadership and Law Enforcement

Pictured are UVI students from St. Croix and St. Thomas who attended a leadership conference hosted by the VI Police Department Cadet Corps. The corps is a two year old program encouraging high school and college students to prepare for law enforcement careers.
The half day conference was held Sunday, Oct. 25 at St. Thomas' Palms Court Harborview Hotel.

Newly promoted US Army Brigadier General Timothy Lake, who grew up in the Virgin Islands, served as they keynote speaker for the conference. He urged participants to set goals, learn to make their own decisions, and invest heavily in their educations and their future.
Pictured from left to right: STT Cadet Class Leader Sherrika Industrious, Francilla Francis (STX),Emanuel Morales (STX), Lionel Benjamin (STX), STX Cadet Class Leader Jeremy Donawa, Natasha Nicholas (STX), Jahnisha McIntosh (STX), Ivory Carter (STX).

Disability rights advocate Mark Vinzant speaks to about 100 participants in the 2009 Voices that Count Conference held Friday at the UVI Administration and Conference Center on St. Thomas. He reminded those attending that anyone can find themselves living with a disability and many seniors who experience changes in their health often do.

The two-day conference, sponsored by the Virgin Islands University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, began Thursday on the St. Croix campus. Top government officials, including Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr, Lt. Gov. Gregory R. Francis, an official from the U.S. Department of Justice and members of the Legislature took part in the discussions. Members of the Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands were also on hand to hear about challenges the disabled face on a daily basis.