University of the Virgin Islands president David Hall addressed the school’s annual fall convocation Friday morning, invoking the virtues of community, integrity, faith and discipline.
The convocation, a videoconference with the Evans Center Theater on St. Croix, is held twice a year, at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters as an occasion for the university to begin a new academic period together.
Hall said believes UVI has a special and worthy mission in the world of higher education.
"Excellence cannot be a luxury for us; it must be our unyielding mandate," he said, citing the unique position of UVI to influence the Caribbean.
He tackled what he sees as the problems of the institution, and what he sees as its strengths with insight and compassion reflecting his 29 years as professor and administrator. He said, "Friends told me the position would be a nice ‘stepping stone.’ My response was that UVI is not a stepping stone; it is the rock upon which we collectively can build a great university."
He spoke of his three major themes, his building blocks.
First, nurturing the spirit of the university, the people who make up the UVI family. "Even when we disagree," he said, "there must be an unshakeable commitment to the values of respect, transparency and integrity. The health of the soul of this university will be as important to me as its financial health."
Second, "We must ensure every student is given the opportunity to graduate. The retention and graduation rates of UVI will be a primary focus of my presidency. We must ensure our students can meet standards and exceed them."
Third, "Working with the community in partnership with the Department of Education, the superintendents, and the Board of Education to ensure all Virgin Island students receive the best education our hearts and minds can deliver. From preschool to graduate school, we must have a seamless commitment…. the future of this land will be shaped by the quality of the people our educational system cultivates and produces."
Hall said, "I don’t want to save the university and lose our kids. We are whole people, families."
This last commitment to the community brought the audiences on both islands to their feet in a standing ovation. He said he wants to hold an educational summit to discuss how to intervene at the secondary and high school level.
He clearly had the audience in his hand.
Jaedee Caines, UVI Student Government Association president, said customer service is lacking on the campus. "We don’t feel we get the welcome we deserve," she said. "We are customers and we don’t get treated with the respect from the faculty and administration. We need to work on this issue."
Hall said, "Based on what I have heard as an observer from stakeholders, there are challenges loud and clear. We need to be more service-oriented. We have to move gradually to change customer attitudes. We will work closely with you."
He added, "I’ve also heard that same complaint from the other side."
Hall said later he had become aware of this problem in a stakeholder survey he had sent out while in the interviewing process. "I picked up on problems of efficiency and efficacy. These problems aren’t unique to UVI," he said.
Hall concluded by introducing "three of the most important people in my life: my wife Marilyn Braithwaite-Hall and daughters Sakile, 16, and Kaimsha, 12." He has a son, Rahsaan, who was not able to attend the ceremony, he said.
Hall said, "I was blessed over 20 years ago to meet a beautiful, kind, and intelligent woman God fashioned specifically for me."
He added, "We spent our honeymoon on St. Thomas, and we are thrilled to return."
