Apparently, the former president of the College of The Bahamas Dr. Rodney Smith has found another calling. He is now the Senior Advisor on International Education at MaximsNews, a global news network.
Dr. Smith left the country months ago after a plagiarism debacle that ended in him resigning as president of COB amid much debate about his use of a portion of a speech that had been given by New York University President Dr. John Sexton. But in his commencement address, Dr. Smith failed to provide attribution.
Since then, the College Council has named Canadian academic Janyne Hodder as the new college president. She is scheduled to begin her duties early next month.
Dr. Smith wrote in an opinion piece for MaximsNews network on the issue of Caribbean immigration and the seven terror suspects who were arrested in Miami several days ago.
He suggested that if Caribbean governments ignore the problems of inadequate education systems, the lack of workforce development programmes and highly ineffective immigration policies it could lead to unrest and future extremism.
In The Bahamas, Dr. Smith opined, the rapidly increasing illegal immigrant population consists of migrants from the Turks and Caicos Islands, Haiti and Jamaica.
Here, he wrote, the tremendous buildup of its own illegal immigrant populations combined with its archipelagic layout, have resulted in incidents of violent clashes between natives and immigrants; the establishment of well-protected, self-sustaining, illegal immigrant cities; and an underground for forged documents that extends to networks in South Florida.
“Today, after some 20, 30, and in some instances in excess of 40 years of being either members of the Commonwealth or having acquired independence as a republic, all of these post-colonial Caribbean countries continue to grapple with increasingly severe social and educational concerns, coupled with a brain-drain of professional manpower in areas like the sciences, technology, education and healthcare,” Dr. Smith said.
“There is also a northward migration of untrained laborers; thus creating demographic shifts associated with new and yet undefined social dilemmas for the governments of the more northern countries; or islands to the immediate southeast of the United States,” he added.
People around the world watched, listened and read with interest as news broke about seven men, reportedly cultists, who were indicted for allegedly plotting to attack several popular buildings in Miami and Chicago.
A U.S. federal grand jury indicted the men ﾖ ranging in ages from 22 to 32 ﾖ in Miami. Six of them were taken into custody in Miami on Thursday when authorities stormed a warehouse in Liberty City. A seventh was arrested in Atlanta, it was reported.
Five are U.S. citizens, one is a legal immigrant from Haiti and the other is an illegal Haitian national, according to the Associated Press. Other press reports claimed that Bahamians were also a part of the wider group of some 20 men who called themselves Seeds of David.
Dr. Smith surmised that the issues associated with illegal immigration will elevate the already catastrophic workforce needs projections in the United States.
“Both are directly and indirectly linked with a part of the solution that rests with multinational donor agencies and the governments of these developing countries,” he said.
A concise profile of Dr. Smithﾒs background that appeared immediately following the opinion piece said he is an expert on the administration and funding of higher education in developing countries, institutional strategic planning and workforce development.
Additionally, it said he has served as president and CEO of American and overseas higher education institutions and is also on a number of boards and commissions, including the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.
COB and Education officials in The Bahamas said of Janyne Hodder – Dr. Smithﾒs successor – that she understands the important role of a university in helping to shape a local and national community, and has the expertise to raise money and grow student enrolment.
From 1995 to 2004, Ms. Hodder served as president of Bishopﾒs University in Lennoxville, Quebec. Since 2004 she has worked in the capacity of vice principal of McGill University, also in Quebec.
By: Tameka Lundy, The Bahama Journal
