Native Virgin Islander Returns to Head UVI’s Reichhold Center for the Arts Nissa N. Copemann has been selected as the director of the Reichhold Center for the Arts at the University of the Virgin Islands. Copemann will be responsible for setting and implementing the Center’s aggressive short- and long-term strategic goals. Her duties include fundraising, financial management, programming, marketing, education, facility operations, ticketing, and community and campus relations.
After a nation-wide search, Copemann, a native Virgin Islander, was selected based on her extensive experience in fundraising, strategic planning, budget management, community outreach, and life-long engagement with the arts. Copemann comes to UVI from Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., founded by actress Angelina Jolie. A news release, with photo, is available from the UVI homepage – http://www.uvi.edu
Leonard, Tuitt Named St. Thomas/St. John Crop and Livestock Farmers of the Year, Respectively Congratulations to all the winners recognized at the St. Thomas/St. John Agriculture and Food Fair held Nov. 3 and 4, on the grounds of UVI’s Reichhold Center for the Arts. Charles Leonard was named crop farmer of the year and Nathaniel Tuitt took the livestock farmer of the year award. Those awards were presented at the official opening ceremony on Saturday afternoon, with V.I. Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Louis Peterson presiding. UVI President Dr. David Hall welcomed Dr. Peterson and other speakers including Lieutenant Governor Gregory Francis, standing in for Gov. John de Jong, and Cooperative Extension Service State Director Kwame Garcia.
Dr. Hall noted that the University strongly supports the V.I. government’s efforts to strengthen farming in the territory. He pointed out that the first winner of UVI’s 13D Student Entrepreneurship Competition won $30,000 earlier this year to support plans for an egg farm on St. Thomas. In other competitions, Kingsley Saunders won the first-ever Coal Pot Lighting Competition. For more information contact the CES office at 693-1080. The fair was sponsored by UVI’s Cooperative Extension Service and the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, with support from Fintrac.
15th ‘Islands In Between’ Conference Set Nov. 8-10; CLASS to Launch VI Caribbean Cultural Center The University of the Virgin Islands will host the 15th annual "Islands In Between" – IIBC 2012 – conference celebrating the languages, literatures and cultures of the Eastern Caribbean. Noting that UVI is celebrating its 50th anniversary, conference organizers slated this year’s event at UVI on St. Thomas for Nov. 8 to 10. Keynote presentations will be made by Dr. Lois Hassell-Habtes and Mary Ann Christopher. Conference sessions will take place in the first-floor conference room of UVI’s Administration and Conference Center. All sessions also will be available via videoconference from the Great Hall on UVI’s Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix.
All events are free to the UVI and VI community. Click here to view the conference program – Islands In Between Conference 2012 Program.
The conference will also feature the launch of the Virgin Islands Caribbean Cultural Center (VICCC) at UVI’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS). A news release is available from the UVI homepage –http://www.uvi.edu
Reichhold Center for the Arts Opens Family Series with Aga-Boom on Nov. 10 UVI’s Reichhold Center for the Arts will present Aga-Boom, a theatre of physical comedy and circus arts, as the first show in this season’s Family Series at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10. Children and adults will delight in the antics of colorfully dressed performers who prat-fall and stilt-walk their way into paper pandemonium. Combining slapstick humor and plenty of physical comedy, Aga-Boom is pure family fun. The hilarity is capped with a blaze of paper streamers, confetti, bouncing balls, lights, and enormous balloons that engulf the audience, provoking endless laughter. Highly acclaimed from coast to coast, Aga-Boom has performed on Broadway and in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles. It has also delighted audiences around the world, performing for more than 500,000 people in Japan, Mexico, Korea, Singapore, Russia, Chile and the United Arab Emirates.
Tickets – $15, $20 and $35 – are available from the Reichhold Box Office and at 693-1559, the UVI Bookstore. Tickets are also available at Dockside Bookstore, Urban Threadz, VI Bridal and Tuxedo, and Essentric Shoe Boutique on St. Thomas, and at Urban Threadz (Sunny Isle) on St. Croix.
UVI to Close Nov. 12 for Veterans Day Holiday The University of the Virgin Islands will be closed for the Veterans Day holiday on Monday, Nov. 12. UVI classes and administrative offices will resume their regular schedules on Tuesday, Nov. 13.
UVI, Nevis Sign Agreement to Attract More Students from Nevis The University of the Virgin Islands and the Nevis Island Administration signed a historic agreement on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, designed to attract more students from Nevis to UVI. The Honorable Joseph Parry, the premiere of Nevis, visited UVI’s St. Thomas campus to join UVI President Dr. David Hall in signing the memorandum of understanding establishing the agreement. A news release, with photo, is available from the UVI homepage – http://www.uvi.edu
Scotiabank Scholarship Donations to UVI Reach $250,500; Plaque With Student Recipients Unveiled Scotiabank Vice President and Country Manager Lawrence Aqui and Marketing Manager Sadie Taylor-Clendinen presented a $20,000 check to the University of the Virgin Islands for UVI scholarships on Oct. 22. The donation brings the total amount of Scotiabank scholarship funding given to UVI to $250,500. The bank made its initial gift to the UVI/United Negro College Fund in 1986.
Following the check presentation, a newly installed Scotiabank Scholarship commemorative plaque was unveiled on the University’s St. Thomas campus. The plaque includes the names of 22 UVI students who received Scotiabank Scholarships, including those of 2012-13 recipients Kimberle Smith, Aquila Dorsey, Rochella Davis and Aliyah Parris. A news release, with photo, is available from the UVI homepage – http://www.uvi.edu
The Caribbean Writer Issues Call for Submissions for Volume 27 The Caribbean Writer, the University of the Virgin Islands’ international, refereed, literary journal with a Caribbean focus, has announced a submission call for its 27th edition. Issues unique to the Caribbean should be central to the work, or the work should reflect a Caribbean heritage, experience or perspective. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 30.
Besides the usual poetry, short fiction and essays, Volume 27 will pay special tribute to Caribbean musicians and visual artists. Interviews with and personal narratives on the Caribbean’s leading musicians and visual artists, at home as well as in the diaspora, are welcomed.
For more information, visit The Caribbean Writer website atwww.TheCaribbeanWriter.org or send email info@thecaribbeanwriter.org. A news release is also available from the UVI homepage – http://www.uvi.edu
UVI Employees, Others Urged to Review UVI Online Job Postings UVI employees and external interested individuals are encouraged to review the University’s online job postings for updates on available vacancies from the Human Resources Office section of the University website –http://www.uvi.edu – or from this direct link: http://careers.uvi.edu. UVI is committed to attracting, developing and retaining a highly qualified workforce to support our mission of excellence in education and research. The University of the Virgin Islands is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
