The late former Prime Minister Owen Arthur has been honoured
07 July 2021
The late former Prime Minister Owen Arthur has been honoured by his alma mater as an outstanding political leader and Caribbean statesman. Last Friday, members of the business, political and academic communities joined his family in a ceremony at The UWI Cave Hill Campus to celebrate his legacy as a committed regionalist, and brilliant economist among other accolades, with the renaming of the CARICOM building in his honour.
The Owen Arthur CARICOM Research Complex holds pride of place at the CARICOM Research Park, in tribute to the man who was a champion of the regional integration movement, particularly the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. At the time of his passing in July last year, Mr Arthur held the title of Professor of Practice in Economics of Development, an award bestowed upon him by The UWI following his departure from representative politics in 2018.
Addressing the renaming ceremony, Prime Minister Mia Mottley praised Arthur’s work ethic and his commitment to completing the task at hand, which she said were among the first lessons she learnt from him.
“I have come to recognise the absolute critical element for success, and success starts with this commitment to task and that dedication to excellence. It is not only something to be spoken about at high levels, but it is an attitude and an ethic that is required at every level of this society irrespective of the task that is being performed.”
Principal of the Cave Hill Campus, Professor the Most Honourable Eudine Barriteau, remembered Mr. Arthur’s passion for research and commitment to regionalism as hallmarks of his professional and public life.
“In his deep and abiding respect for Caribbean regionalism Mr Arthur held an unmistakable special regard for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States…. His political contemporaries shared that he would often ensure that Barbados’ financial contribution to regional organisations were made well in advance of the time that they fell due, thus enabling these institutions some breathing space to conduct their affairs.”
She added that Arthur’s presence on campus also served to enrich the institution. “He paid us with his generous and unstinting involvement in public lectures, seminars, and providing advice to graduate students and faculty alike. In that office he prepared many of his latest public addresses and in-depth economic analyses.
“He sat (in an office) in the midst of several entities which focused on regional research, building better trade policy, generating social and economic knowledge, and constantly debating ideas with fellow researchers on matters Caribbean,” Professor Barriteau said. Vice Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles remembered Arthur as a great friend of The UWI, and praised his vision to grow the Cave Hill Campus.
“I respected him also for the brilliance of his relationship to the campus… we had this relationship: growth and stability, and he matched the growth of Cave Hill with the growth of the Barbados economy,” Beckles said.
Members of the Arthur family who attended the renaming ceremony included his daughter Leah, who said her father had been looking forward to that occasion.
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