The College of The Bahamas’ (COB) Council is confident they have made the correct choice and in a matter of days, COB will officially have a new president, thus bringing an end to a yearlong vacancy for such post.
Janyne Hodder, former McGill Vice Principal, ended her duties at McGill on May 31st and is expected to take office as the institution’s fourth president on July 1.
After two months of heated controversy, Minister of Education Science and Technology, Alfred Sears, made the long awaited announcement on May 21st.
Ms Hodder is described as having “broad experience” in the education field and is said to be fit for the job due to her close Bahamian nexus, seeing that she lived in New Providence for over ten years and has three Bahamian children.
In a press release issued by COB’s Council in April of this year, the criteria for the next president along with the responsibilities of such office were published in the local dailies.
The statement went on to say, “The College’s fourth president will have the immense task of leading the transformation of The College of The Bahamas into The University of The Bahamas.”
It said that the next leader of the institution should be one who “possesses a wealth of international experience to lead The College to greater international participation and one who is able to command public respect and confidence.”
Further, such statement revealed that the quality of the college’s leader is vital to the success of the college and that the college’s success is important to the development of the nation.
In a recent interview with COB’s Council Chairman, Franklyn Wilson, The Guardian was advised that the institution sought after Ms Hodder because the council felt she met the requirements prescribed for the presidency.
He added that COB’s Council is seeking to mould the government-run institution into a comprehensive university, that will be focused on national development and research.
“It cannot simply be the Cambridge of the Caribbean, that is to say, that it is concerned with research and nothing else. However, at the same time, it cannot be a little community college. It must have an emphasis on scholarship and research.”
Wilson went on to say that the future University of The Bahamas must have [fulfil] two specific [objectives]: “[Firstly,] it must make a meaningful contribution to the national development process, in terms of generating and facilitating the generation of persons who must underpin the economy of The Bahamas.
Secondly, “It must be an institution that is doing research that helps people to answer questions which [arise] everyday in our country, [which are] left unanswered, and that leaves everyone having an opinion but no empirical evidence.”
By: VIRAJ PERPALL, The Nassau Guardian
