NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The University of The Bahamas (UB) is preparing to honor a cadre of alumni as examples of the excellence that defines the institution’s graduates, who are making substantive contributions to the public and private sector, leading innovation and helping to steer transformation at the community level.
UB will pay homage to eight outstanding alumni at the Hall of Fame and Outstanding Alumni Awards scheduled for this Saturday.
The alumni gala, a hybrid virtual and in-person event, will be held on February 26 at 7pm at Crypto Isle, formerly Luciano’s, on East Bay Street.
Two of the honorees, both from the class of 1981 — veteran hotelier Sonia Cox-Hamilton and veteran Public Officer Reginald Saunders — will be inducted into the prestigious UB Hall of Fame.
The other honorees are Family Medicine Specialist Dr Indira Minus-Grimes (class of 1991); attorney and litigator Kahlil Parker and tourism professional Garbrielle A Archer (class of 2001); and higher education advancement professional Keturah Babb and communications consultant and entrepreneur Tanya McFall-Major (class of 2011).
Dr Minus-Grimes will receive the Outstanding Alumni award; Parker and Archer will receive Alumni Trailblazer awards; and Babb and McFall-Major will receive Emerging Leader awards.
Director of Alumni Affairs Elvardo Thompson said: “The Alumni Awards is critical for us because it not only shows the important role UB plays in nation-building, but it also shows how impactful the institution has been in the lives of our students, alumni and their families.”
Each awardee has made invaluable contributions to the development of The Bahamas in their own unique way, which has consequently elevated the university’s profile nationally and internationally.
“The fact that it will be a virtual hybrid event that will be livestreamed makes it extraordinarily exciting. People will be able to view it wherever they are in the world,” said Thompson.
UB Alumni Association Chair Jazmine Romer-Rolle said UB’s Alumni Awards also incentivizes alumni to be good ambassadors of the university, which in turn benefits the country at large.
“When alumni are recognized and praised for their contributions to their respective professional fields and to the communities they serve, it highlights the greatness that UB has a part in producing,” said Romer-Rolle.
“Alumni want to know that the institution that they value and respect also values and respects them in return.
“We need more programmes like this to encourage the UB community to continue to give back to the university in whichever ways they can.”
Romer-Rolle said she looks forward to this year’s awards ceremony not just because of the pomp and pageantry associated with it, but because it serves as yet another opportunity for the university to further cement its legacy in the annals of Bahamian history.
“Current, prospective and past students of University of The Bahamas can all benefit from the knowledge that there are many great alumni that pass through the same halls they have, will and are currently walking through,” said Romer-Rolle.
“It instills a great sense of pride, especially when you know you have attended classes with them or shared time in a club or organization with them.”
With the passage of the University of The Bahamas Act, 2016, alumni of the institution include UB graduates as graduates of the former College of The Bahamas, the Bahamas Teachers’ College, San Salvador Teachers’ College, CR Walker Technical College, the sixth form programme of Government High School as well as the Bahamas Hotel Tourism and Training Centre.
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