The UWI Fondly Remembers Former Cave Hill Campus Registrar, Andrew Gordon Lewis

The regional UWI community is saddened by the news of the passing of retired Campus Registrar of its Cave Hill Campus, Andrew Gordon Lewis, one of the Campus’s foundation students who went on to become a leading and much revered administrator at the institution.

The Cave Hill stalwart whose career at The University of the West Indies spanned over 25 years, is fondly remembered for his dedication to the institution, masterful planning, avid mentorship, gentle manner, infectious laughter, and as a campus “icon” and “a true giant in the Cave Hill pantheon.”

Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles remembered the late registrar as “a very special specimen of a citizen” and “strategic planner extraordinaire” while Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Cave Hill Campus, Professor R. Clive Landis noted that the high qualities Mr. Lewis pursued are now interwoven into the fabric of the campus.

Mr. Lewis was a member of the Campus’s first student cohort in 1963 and later joined the Cave Hill staff in 1980 after spending some time in the public service. After his formal retirement from Cave Hill in 2003, he remained to serve as Director of Planning and Special Projects enabling the campus’s expansion to benefit from the richness of his knowledge and his devotion to the institution. He was largely responsible for charting much of the strategies for development, and for guiding the projects for Cave Hill’s physical expansion, felt by many to be an enduring contribution to the Campus.

He truly mastered the “operations and complexities” of The UWI. From funding proposals and negotiations to design and coordination, he was instrumental in the transformative development of 33 acres of land at Black Rock which now boast the Usain Bolt Sporting Complex, the School for Graduate Studies and Research and the Keith Hunte Hall.

Responsibility for the expansion of Cave Hill’s built environment extended beyond the Black Rock or Lazaretto Lands, however, to include the Faculty of Medical Sciences, the Clico Centre for Teaching Excellence and the Sagicor Centre for Lifelong Learning, among numerous other notable initiatives.

In 2006, Mr Lewis was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Special Award for Outstanding and Distinguished Service to the University, at that time the second recipient of such an honour in the history of The UWI.

Colleagues who served with him, including academics and administrators, remember his warm and keen mentorship, his guidance towards appreciating the values and phenomenal contribution of The UWI and his example, which helped to shape a culture adherence to standards of the highest quality.

The University mourns his passing, extends condolences to his family and loved ones and invites tributes which may be sent directly to marcomms@cavehill.uwi.edu.