Professor Hazel Simmons McDonald

The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica W.I. Monday, June 9, 2025—Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Professor Sir Hilary Beckles issues the following statement.

There are moments when sad hearings of a passing shatter the shield with which we surround our friends and loved ones. But they are quickly followed by a flood of feelings, enshrined in experiences that constitute a Milky Way of memories.

We hail Hazel Simmons-McDonald, professor of words and their languages, administrator and conceptualizer of higher education, and a poetess of power with popular acclaim.

Like many Lucians, she embraced The UWI, first at Mona and then spreading wings across the archipelago. She landed at Cave Hill, where she flourished as a teacher, Head of Department, and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education.

Many experienced her as a bundle of dizzying energy, never tiring and always inspiring. There was no surprise when she was called upon to serve as the first Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Open Campus, which was desperately in need of her special skills and commitment. Her contributions to the ‘Open’ and ‘Global’ Campus were an extension of her impressive investment at Cave Hill.

But she never forgot the significance of her first engagement as a scholar. Writing, speaking, publishing and editing remained the centre of her gravity. Traversing the region and the world beyond, her voice as a generous scholar was salient. She was admired and respected. Her ancestral Saint Lucia celebrated her as a ‘piton’ and enabled her to feel the sensation of the elevation.

We hail Hazel for all she did and meant. She moved smoothly and productively among us and into retirement, where there was no resting for the researcher.

From her beloved UWI, we send book loads of blessings and gratitude to blaze the trail of her eternal soul on its journey back home.

END

About The University of the West Indies 

The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development, residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the wellbeing of people across the region for the past 75 years. 

From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Global Campus, and international centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. 

The UWI offers over 1000 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of intellect and expertise in the Caribbean and is committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and the wider world

The UWI has been consistently ranked among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists since its debut in the rankings in 2018. In addition to its leading position in the Caribbean in the World University Rankings, it is also in the top 25 for Latin America and the Caribbean and the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old).  The UWI is also featured among the leading universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action. 

In 2024, The UWI launched a first-of-its-kind global online graduate business school focused on leadership in supporting the SDGs, the International School for Development Justice (ISDJ).

Learn more at www.uwi.edu