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On Sunday, June 24,
2007, Northern Caribbean University (NCU) officially launched its
100th Anniversary Celebrations with the unveiling of a monument
close to the site on which the institution was founded at Bog Walk,
St. Catherine in 1907.
NCU President, Dr. Herbert Thompson (left), CJC President, Pastor
Everett Brown (right-front) and Board Chairman, Dr. Patrick Allen
(right-back) unveiling the monument.
The unveiling ceremony,
which took place at the Bog Walk Seventh-day Adventist Church, was
supported by officials of the Adventist Church community headed by
West Indies Union Conference (WIU) President and NCU Board Chairman,
Dr. Patrick Allen as well as members of the NCU Administration. The
event featured inspiring congratulatory greetings from the Board
Chairman, Dr. Allen; Mrs. Sandra Gayle, Education Director, WIU;
Pastor Everett Brown, President, Central Jamaica Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists; and Mr. Giovanni Franklin, President of
NCU’s United Student Movement. Also in attendance was Pastor
Roosewell Lobban, Pastor of the Bog Walk Adventist Church; Pastor
Kemar Douglas, Associate Communication Director, CJC and Associate
Pastor of the Bog Walk Adventist Church; and Pastor Delroy Clarke,
Pastor of the Riversdale Adventist Church, where the first NCU
monument was constructed.
Those gathered at the unveiling were enlightened to the rich history
of the institution through a historical overview presented by NCU
Alumni Director, Mr. Garnett Weir. Mr. Weir outlined the progress
and development of the University from conception to inception,
highlighting the pioneers whose efforts led to the growth of this
noble institution. “The origin of NCU is inextricably linked to the
early beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica”,
Mr. Weir stated as he pointed out the genesis of the institution. He
went on to describe the challenges and changes endured by the
institution over its 100 years of existence.
Dr. Herbert Thompson
Dr. Herbert Thompson,
NCU President, in addressing the audience at the event, expressed
his delight at the growth of the institution over the years. He
stated that “what we’re engaged in today is the continuation of the
(work) started 100 years ago by people who were bold enough to
believe that we didn’t only need to be Christians, but we also
needed to be educated Christians in order to hold our places in this
world”. Stating that the university is still challenged, the
president urged individuals to continue to support the institution,
as NCU continues to make indelible impact on the world.
The monument was erected
in the Bog Walk community in commemoration of the fact that in 1907
the institution was established at Willowdene Estate in that
community as West Indian Training School. After being relocated
several times, the institution was finally moved to its present
location, Coolsworthy, Mandeville in 1919, and was upgraded and
renamed West Indies College. On June 24, 1999, the institution
received a charter from the Jamaican Government to operate as
Northern Caribbean University, thus, Sunday’s event was also a
celebration of the eighth anniversary of the institution being
declared a University.
Article by Kimberley Whyte-NCU and Kemar
Douglas-CJC
Photos by Kemar Douglas-CJC
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