The University of the Virgin Islands announced Tuesday that Simon B. Jones-Hendrickson, professor of economics, has been appointed dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Jones-Hendrickson has been serving in the role of interim dean since 2012.
According to UVI, Jones-Hendrickson brings a wealth of international experience and recognition to the appointment. He served in a diplomatic capacity from 2001 to 2004 as the ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, CARICOM and Association of Caribbean States. He also currently serves as the president of the Eastern Caribbean Copyright Licensing Association and is appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies.
Jones-Hendrickson first came to UVI as an undergraduate student, earning an associate’s degree in business administration. He would go on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Illinois State University and a doctorate from the University of Exeter in England.
Jones-Hendrickson has authored publications and articles on economics, higher education and leadership, especially pertaining to the Caribbean. He has also produced a number of commissioned reports on matters relating to the Virgin Islands and the Eastern Caribbean.
Jones-Hendrickson’s teaching career with UVI began in the summer of 1972 as a lecturer in economics, joining the faculty in 1976. He taught at the University of the West Indies from 1973 to 1976. Jones-Hendrickson was chairman of the Division of Social Sciences, as it was then known, from 1993 to 1996.