Former Lecturer and Retired University Registrar, Mr. Vincent Alexander is a Special Person

Jan 29, 2023 News

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For his invaluable contribution to academia, sports, and culture…

BY REHANNA RAMSAY

Kaieteur News – While most people associate Mr. Vincent Alexander with politics owing to his affiliation and role as an opposition-nominated Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), his work and contribution to Guyana extend far beyond this realm.

In this week’s Special Person article, The Waterfalls will seek to highlight the invaluable contribution of Mr. Alexander in the area of academia, sports, and culture.   For those readers, who may not know Alexander is the holder of a national award— the Golden Arrowhead of Achievement. However, it is not just for his political contribution.   Alexander has worked with other areas of development. He is a retired lecturer/registrar of the University of Guyana (UG).

He has served in the capacity of a lecturer at the UG for several years before assuming the positions of Deputy Registrar and then Registrar.  Alexander has conducted extensive research work in the area of local government development.

In the sports arena, he served as an administrator: managed the UG cricket team at the inter-varsity games in Barbados; a UG multi-disciplinary sports team on tour to Suriname; and the Guyana National Basketball team at the 1988 CARICOM championship.  In culture, he served as a contributor to the educational efforts of the African Cultural Development Association (ACDA) and a patron of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana (IPADA-G).

Mr. Alexander has served on numerous boards, including chair of the National Accreditation Council, Co-chair of the Local Government Task Force, member of the Constitutional Reform Commission, and Parliamentarian. He is currently Chairman of the Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education and a commissioner at GECOM.

Alexander also served as an expert/consultant with the IDB, Caribbean Local Government Forum, National Democratic Institute, Arthur Lok Jack School of Management (UWI), and the Parliament of Guyana.

Outside his professional life, Mr. Alexander has been married to his wife Dr. Holly Alexander for over 43 years. The couple shares five adult children.

EARLIEST MEMORIES

Alexander grew up in a lower-income home in Wortmanville, Lodge Georgetown. He spent his early days helping his mother; Beryl Alexander manage their neighbourhood shop, so much so, that he often missed school.

“Some of my childhood memories are of helping my mother in the shop.  That was our means of getting by. I am one of four siblings and when my mother went out to the market, I would remain in the shop to sell. This would cause me to miss school quite often,” Alexander said.

Nevertheless, he said that his irregular attendance did not hamper his academic performance.

“My teachers were surprised at my ability to retain stuff because I would pass my entrance exams,” he said.

The young Alexander faced many impediments to obtaining an education because in those days, education was not free and his mother could ill afford to pay for him to attend high school. He said nonetheless that his older sister who was a teacher paid for part of his studies after he obtained a scholarship to attend secondary school.

Alexander said, “I spent an extra year in primary school for the want of resources to fund my attendance at secondary school, I eventually attended: Chatham High through a partial scholarship.”

He explained that he crossed a similar hurdle to enter the fifth form of Christ Church Secondary, where, after two terms, I was elected to the position of Head Prefect.

“I am eternally grateful to have been able to attain tertiary education through government scholarships. After completing the College of Preceptor (CP) tests, I was awarded a place at Christ Church Secondary School. Then I went 0n to complete my tertiary studies at Guyana Technical Institute,” he said.

Alexander later migrated and studied at Kivukoni College (Tanzania), People`s Friendship University (Moscow) Russia, and the University of Guyana where he acquired his tertiary education, inclusive of a Master of Law, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Legislative Drafting.

At the Peoples` Friendship University, he was the best-graduating student in the area of specialization (Theory of the State and Law) and the second-best graduating student of the Class of Lawyers, in 1985.  Mr. Alexander received similar rewards at GTI and the University of Guyana.

EMPLOYMENT RANK

In his professional capacity, Alexander occupied a number of roles including being elected as a Regional Executive Officer (REO) for Region Three West Demerara, Essequibo Islands under the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration.

As REO, Alexander engaged in self-studies in the area of Local Government and Regional Development.

He said, “I wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible about the area that I was working in.”

As a result, his initial studies and role as an REO prepared him for his next career move.  After two years, he applied to become a researcher at the Institute of Development Studies at UG.

Given his commitment, Alexander quickly climbed the ranks of employment at UG.  He went from Researcher 1 to Researcher 2 before he became Deputy Registrar where he served in an administrative capacity for 13 years before being elevated to Registrar of UG.

He explained, “When I applied, they asked me if there is a specific area of study I wished to focus on and I said local government given my exposure to it.”

Alexander spent the next six years working as a research/lecturer at UG. During this time, he produced a number of research papers and information pieces on the issues of local government.  Alexander’s research also encompassed Caribbean Affairs Empowerment of Races and Regionalism in the Region in relation to Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago (T&T).

While at UG, Alexander was instrumental in reintroducing Local Government as a course at the University of Guyana. He also did work with the Caribbean Local Government Forum — a Canadian-supported programme.

As Deputy Registrar, Alexander spearheaded the introduction of the digital record system.

“We moved from a paper-based system to one which was more convenient for students to get access to their grades and records without having to visit the office.”

Alexander’s administrative duties increased as he was promoted to the post of Registrar at the University of Guyana.

In this capacity, he was tasked with managing the admission of students to UG, the administration and the conduct of exams, the payment of their University fees, and the overall welfare of students.

His office acted as the mediator between the Student Society and UG’s academic board.

He explained. “While there, my office was responsible for looking after a host of issues related to the students’ welfare on campus. I managed the payment of fees, often working with students on a payment plan, and we had oversight or management for the various units on campus, including the medical and counseling unit. We also worked with various student clubs including the agriculture club, the environmental club, the economic club, and so on.”

SPORTS AND CULTURE

Outside 0f his academic contributions, Mr. Alexander was also instrumental in revitalising the sport programme at UG.

He said, “When I was there, we started to get involved in cricket and basketball at a national level again.” On occasion, he managed teams that travelled overseas.

“I managed a multi-disciplinary sports team from UG which encompassed players from the basketball, volleyball, football, and badminton teams’ which travelled to Suriname.”

Alexander reflected that he had previously been involved in sports throughout his school years.

As a youth, he played basketball and later became an official member of the Guyana Basketball Federation. He is still very much involved in the development of the sport by virtue of his position at the Athletics Association of Guyana.

Alexander told The Waterfalls that his interest in culture dates back to the 1970’s when he led a Guyana delegation of over 171 Guyanese youth to attend the 10^th World Festival for Youth and Students held in Cuba.

“We had a team of 35 persons, they did a presentation called phases which examined the coming of Guyana’s six peoples,” he said.

He also actively engages in volunteerism and mentorship. While studying in Russia in 1980, he travelled between Kyviv, Ukraine, and Vienna, Austria to do peace rallies sponsored by World Peace Council.

At present, the former lecturer is the lead coordinator and chairperson of the Forbes Burham Mentorship Programme for Youth.

The mentorship programme offers students entering secondary school psychological and other types of support through personal development worships hosted throughout the city.

In this role, Alexander has organized several personal fundraisers for activities that would aid the mentorship programme to carry out its mandate.

The former UG registrar is also a member of the Anthony Sagba Awards National Nomination Committee which he has “a say so,” in selecting national laureates to be awarded for their contributions to Science and Technology, the Arts, Business Entrepreneurship, and Civil Society Engagement. The award is sponsored by Ansa McAL Company Limited.

Further, in the area of culture, Mr. Alexander has contributed to the ACDA through his involvement in the educational lectures on the history of the liberation struggles in Africa and the struggles of people of African Descent in Guyana.

About five years ago, he became a patron of the International Decade for People of African Descent in Guyana International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana.

The group organizes programmes, activities, and outreaches to provide services and address issues directly affecting the Afro-Guyanese community.

In his private capacity, Mr. Alexander enjoys keeping life simple. He said although he was offered many opportunities to live outside of Guyana, his love for this land has kept him here, in service to the people of Guyana.

“I am retired so most of my efforts are really voluntary.  For leisure, I do a bit of travelling from time-to-to time. When I am in Guyana, my wife and I own a ‘Bacha’ (Russian) for a country home in Yarrowkabra, where I like to go unwind and spend time with the family,” he added.

 

 

 

  

 

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