Velma Tyson – 1980, 1983

Velma Tyson

This account of the positive impact that UVI has had on my life and on the lives of its students is shared as an encouragement to others to appreciate and take advantage of the great benefits of this outstanding institution of higher learning.

“Mother of three young children, wife, full-time employee with a yearning to return to the classroom, this time as a mathematics teacher,” briefly describes Velma Tyson in the mid 70’s. The major obstacle to this quest was the required bachelor’s degree in mathematics, but my personal commitments made this seem like “mission impossible.” After careful reflection, I embraced the blessing of CVI and in 1976 enrolled as a full-time student, embarking on a journey that forever changed my life. The convenience of the St. Croix campus and strong family support allowed me to complete the first two years while holding a full-time job.

The last two years were spent on the St. Thomas campus in a friendly and intellectually stimulating environment in which a group of seven mathematics majors worked as a collaborative team, often challenging ourselves in problem solving sessions. During this time I also served as the resident assistant (RA) for Harvey Dorm, which was strategically placed above the cafeteria. This was best appreciated on weekends when we managed to slip in for breakfast seconds before the door was locked while many of our friends from the other dorms missed this opportunity. Harvey was the oldest dorm for girls and was the only one on that particular location on campus so we missed a great deal of fun but there were many benefits. I remember the pride and joy among the residents when Harvey placed first in academics and sports. Two of the dorm mates who stand out in my memory were Ingrid Richardson, our volleyball star and Peggy Hughes, who was always very lady-like, pleasant and soft-spoken.

I also became a member of the President’s Club, a distinction of academic excellence. Club members were presented with navy blue custom-tailored blazers with CVI’s logo in gold thread on the pocket and the student’s name embroidered in gold on the inside lining with an additional permanently stamped tag. My blazer, dated February 16, 1979 is a treasure and is still in excellent condition. The most treasured highlight of my early CVI experiences relates to the annual trips which were taken during spring break. The person who stands out most is Guy Hewlett, now M.D., very intelligent and humble and equally humorous person. He often had the group laughing non-stop, and he said the funniest things at times when we were expected to be on our best behavior.


Velma Tyson photo taken in 1979

In May 1980, following graduation, I moved back to St. Croix. My mission was accomplished as I then experienced the joy of teaching mathematics at the secondary level. Once again, I took advantage of the benefits of CVI and in 1983 graduated with a Masters in School Management and Supervision (Education).

My employment as a mathematics instructor at UVI began in 1990, having travelled to Washington DC in 1989 to receive an award for excellence in mathematics teaching at the secondary level. My strong CVI preparation allowed me to successfully complete a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at the University of Iowa (1992-1995), taking along my fourth child at the age of seven. In 2001 Chancellor Jennifer Jackson nominated me for a Millennium Award for excellence in mathematics teaching at U.S. universities and colleges and UVI was hence among the few proud universities to have faculty receive this award.

As a proud alumna, I serve as chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Beyond God and family, I have no greater pride and joy than to experience the continued success of the students educated at UVI. As an Emerging Caribbean Scholars coordinator I am continually thrilled as year after year I witness our scholars step on stage to accept awards when competing with students from over 700 universities. UVI is so small, yet so powerful.

In this jubilee year there is much to celebrate and the excellence will no doubt continue into the future.

Dr. Velma Tyson is a Professor of Mathematics at UVI.

Jerome L. McElroy

Jerome L. McElroy

Kudos to the faculty, staff and students of CVI/UVI for their successful efforts to maintain the academic quality of this maturing institution. I spent my early career there during the 1970s and owe a great debt of gratitude. The experience was formative for me both professionally and personally. In the first case, I cut my pedagogical teeth teaching economics at the then CVI. Because the textbooks were North American, to engage the students I had to learn how to apply theory to island reality. Using local examples has become a touchstone of my classes ever since. Another memorable aspect of those early years was student interest in the Cuban Marxist model that led to many heated but friendly discussions in the classroom and sometimes over dinner.

My work at the Caribbean Research Institute (CRI) also made an indelible imprint on my scholarly life. With competent colleagues like Norwell Harrigan and Beverly Bandler, I began to model the contours of the island economy in general and tourist development in particular. Over the years my name has become associated with the Small Island Tourist Economy or so-called SITE model, demonstrating the enduring influence of CRI on my scholarly career.

In the second case, the CVI experience living in St. Thomas was personally rewarding in three important ways. First and foremost, it was there that we adopted our daughter, Jacqueline, born on St. Croix. Second, our campus apartment overlooking Brewer’s Bay provided my wife Birdie with lovely land and seascapes to paint. As a result of the impact of that beautiful environment on her work, her first ever-art show at L’Escargot sold out in one evening. Third, the same tropical scenery prompted me to begin writing poetry. Thus far I have published three chapbooks with another in press. Clearly CVI and St. Thomas share a very deep place in the mind and heart of my family.

Jerome McElroy - 1976 CVI Yearbook

What I remember most of course is the students – eager, appreciative, courteous. One of the humorous highpoints was when I took a group of honor students on a school-funded weekend trip to St. Maarten. The first evening half gambled and won. The second all gambled and lost, proving again there is no such thing as a free lunch.

At CVI I was also privileged to work with excellent colleagues in the Social Science Department. They included Marilyn Krigger, Eric Blake, Paul Leary, John Cross, Frank Mills and Klaus de Albuquerque. I owe these pioneers a great deal for their encouragement. Klaus, in fact, became my long-standing research collaborator until his death in 1999.

I have nothing but fond memories of CVI/UVI. Congratulations again, and Godspeed forward for the next fifty.

Dr. McElroy was at CVI from 1972 to 1980 and taught economics and conducted research at the Caribbean Research Institute (now UVI’s Eastern Caribbean Center).

Albert Bryan - 2004

Albert Bryan

I’ve always wanted to be huge part of whatever happened in the Virgin Islands, and I knew that I would have to have the tools and personal growth that would ensure that I would be ready for the challenge. An MBA was one of the tools I thought I would need to give me the credibility. My honest motivation at the time was to get the “sheepskin,” put it in my arsenal and move on. What I found at UVI was a most welcome and pleasant surprise.

I know that the new trend is to get your MBA online and move on. It’s flexible and convenient to the working professional, but the rewards of the classroom and the instructors were invaluable. One of the most surprising benefits was the networking. It is the perfect medium to meet Virgin Islanders that are positive, progressive and want to invest in themselves with a solid education. The videoconference classes allow for you to connect with and gain the perspective from St. Thomians as well as St. Johnians. These are connections that I use every day as the same people dominate both the public and private sectors of our Territory.



Albert Bryan and UVI Director of Annual 

Giving and Alumni Affairs Linda I. Smith.



The other discovery was the wealth of untapped talent that passes through the University every day. As the Labor commissioner, I am well aware of the struggles of employers and job seekers to make the right “connect.” People say it’s not what you know, but who you know and networking is an integral part of becoming successful. If I don’t know you have the talent, I can’t tap into it. The graduate programs allowed us to see talents that extended beyond job descriptions and resume’ of the people we interacted with.

The relationships I forged coupled with the instruction and graduate experience I gained are the cornerstone of the personal growth I have attained during and after my graduation from UVI. If you plan to stay in the Virgin Islands and want to expand your educational portfolio, UVI is a must. Real problems of our Territory become the focus of your case studies, and real people who will eventually help solve them become lifelong colleagues, business associates and friends. 

Albert Bryan is now commissioner of labor in the U. S. Virgin Islands.

Richard Schrader - 1969, 1981

Richard Schrader

My literary journey began on Blue Mountain over 1,000 feet high above St. Croix one evening in 1984. It was one year before my retirement as prison warden at the Golden Grove Correctional Facility. Twice a week after work, I’d stop by the Melvin H. Evans Learning Center, College of the Virgin Islands, only a few minutes away, to pursue studies in Public Administration.

One evening after class while in the library, I was approached by Marty Campbell.

“Richard,” he said, “what are you doing when you’re through studying?”

“I’m going home,” I replied.

“We’re having a poetry reading in the Little Theatre, and you’re invited!”

“No, Marty,” I answered, “I’m not into poetry.”

“You may like it!” he persisted.

“Nah,” I said, “I had a rough day at the prison. I’m going home.”

Richard Schrader exploring some ruins at CVI

Ten to fifteen minutes later, I took up my books and left, but this poetry thing was on my mind. When I got to the bottom of the stairwell, I said to myself, “Ah, let me check this thing out, and I turned around and went back up the stairs and into the Little Theatre. Oh, boy! The readers were really into it, belting off poem after poem. “This is sweet,” I thought. “I like it…good stuff.”

As a member of Signal Support Activity, Virgin Islands Army National Guard, I took part in a training exercise on Blue Mountain about a week later. That night the stars were out like never before, and the view of St. Croix with its glittering lights way below was awesome.

When I had had my fill, armed with pen, paper and flashlight, I crawled into my pup tent and wrote two poems: “Stars” and “St. Croix by Night.” It was the first time in my nearly fifty years of life that I had tried my heart and hand at poetry, thanks to the inspiration that came from the students and instructors at the College of the Virgin Islands that evening in February 1984. 

Mr. Schrader is well known among Virgin Islanders and his friends far and near, not only for his many years of community service, but also for his new role of poet, author, historian, lecturer and preserver of oral and recorded histories.

Orville E. Kean

Orville E. Kean

Perhaps the most memorable experience I had while serving as president of UVI was the year I spent working in the Fishbowl. The Fishbowl was the area which houses the African Sculpture Exhibit on the first floor of the Reichhold Center for the Arts.

During the passage of Hurricane Marilyn over St. Thomas in the early morning hours on September 16, 1995, a garbage dumpster located on the northeast corner of the Ralph M. Paiewonsky Library was lifted into the air by one of the tornados spawned by the hurricane. It smashed into the northeast corner of library’s roof, where it tore a huge gaping hole into the roof, then flew over the roof and landed half-buried in the center of the stage of the Reichhold Center. Along the way it tore apart about 15 seats that were located in the covered section of the Center.

The damage caused by the dumpster made it impossible for the offices on the second floor of the library to be occupied when operations resumed after the hurricane. As a result, the offices of the president and of the vice president for University Relations had to be relocated somewhere else. The only space that was readily available was the open space on the first floor of the Reichhold Center that was minimally utilized by the Center’s staff. But the space was not large enough, and it was too open to provide the privacy needed for the operations of the office of the president.

Therefore, a decision was made to remove the African sculptures from their glass-enclosed exhibit room, place them in storage, and use the room as the president’s office. Everything that happened in the president’s office would become clearly visible to everyone working in the open space on the first floor. Hence the name The Fishbowl.

Nevertheless, it provided the acoustic seclusion required for private discussions.

It was not so bad. It was the first and only time I worked in an office with a window during the 12 years I served as president. The same thing was true during the ten years I served as Dean of Instruction and as Executive Vice President. In my last 22 years at the University, The Fishbowl provided my only opportunity to see anything outside my office without opening a door.

Orville Kean in 2003

Working in The Fishbowl was probably my most productive year as president. The construction and reconstruction projects that followed Hurricane Marilyn created the modern face of the University. Progress was made on the construction of the St. Croix Campus’102-bed residence halls and Ancillary Services Facility, and design of the St. Thomas Sports and Fitness Center. In general, all of the infrastructure projects that were completed during the ten-year period following Hurricane Marilyn were included in the UVI Facilities Master Plan that was approved during that year.

The Plan included adequate stand-by power generation facilities for each campus; the burying of the power lines and computer lines; self-sufficiency in the generation and production of safe drinking water on the St. Thomas Campus; the construction of the Music Building on the St. Thomas Campus; the construction of a new cafeteria on the St. Thomas Campus; the redesign and facelift of The Great House on the St. Croix Campus; the construction of ball courts on the St. Croix Campus; and the plan to use the structural framework of the Harvey Student Center to construct a new Administration Center that would house the operations of the University’s administrative services.

President Emeritus Kean is now retired and lives on St. Thomas.

Dennis Parker

Dennis Parker

When I reflect back on my thirty plus years at CVI/UVI I find that I am overwhelmed with memories of the wonderful classroom experiences, the challenging plays and most of all the people with whom I interacted. If I wrote on each of these areas in depth I would of necessity fill volumes.

Classes were always challenging and interesting. Students from the States and various Caribbean Islands brought ideas based upon many different cultures. I often thought I learned as much from them as they did from me. Many, many went on to successful careers including: Melvin Claxton, a Pulitzer Prize winner in journalism; Richard Skerritt, a Rhodes Scholar, who is currently Minister of Tourism in St. Kitts; the Honorable Jessica Gallvin, a judge on the Virgin Islands bench; Sandra Goomansingh, anchorwoman of TV 2 news; and Jessica Henderson, a religious playwright. These are but a few of CVI/UVI’s successful graduates.

There were many, many administrators, fellow faculty and staff who I call friends. However, there was no one more special than the First Lady of CVI/UVI Theater, Dr. Rosary Harper. Rosary and I agreed from the beginning that as long as we worked together all of our productions would be collaborations. There were no Harper plays or Parker plays. Eventually, the Little Theatre plays became known as the Harper-Parker Productions. We were a team and as the years flew by we became lifelong friends to this day.

Dennis Parker outside the "temporary" humanities
building on the St. Thomas campus circa 1977 or 1978.

We had many volunteers who helped to make our productions: Doug Salisbury, former Reichhold Centre technical director, handled the stage lighting; Josee' Deckert, became our artist in residence, creating wonderful poster/t-shirt designs and often helped paint sets; Mary Alexander, executive assistant to the Humanities Division, designed tickets and sold them. Mervin Taylor of the bookstore also oversaw ticket sales. Monique Purguy was a great help with costuming working in tandem with Rosary.

Community actors Hans Eisler, Wanda Dipnarine, Pat Hector, Sheldon Turnbull and Seymour Davis were among the many who took on roles with our student actors. Faculty thespians included Dr. Vladimir Barac, Dr. Patricia Harkins-Pierre, Dr. Simon Jones-Hendrickson and Dr. Douglas Iannuci also graced the stage. The university theater family became complete with the participation of staff members Robert Ruskin and Choupette Braure.

Talented local playwrights David Edgecombe, Rudy Wallace and Lorraine Joseph showed their confidence in us by allowing us to mount their production premieres. From the professional world CVI theater premiered the Derek Walcott-Galt McDermott musical, “Marie La Veau” on the stage of the Little Theater. Many local musicians contributed their talents as well and I served as producer. I even had an opportunity to be an actor!

Yes, oh the memories! It has always been about the people who have made CVI/UVI a special home. I feel honored to be a member of the UVI family.

Dr. Dennis Parker is now retired. He and his wife, Diana, are celebrating the forty-fifth anniversary of their marriage this week.

Vincent O. Cooper - 1972

Vincent Cooper

One of the many positive experiences I remember at CVI during the early 1970s was playing soccer on the CVI team, coached by Mr. Eugene Werts. The team consisted of a mix of outstanding players from various Caribbean islands, Guyana, and North America. Team members included Desmond Skeete, George Kenny, Dennis Clarke, Nellon Bowry, Howard Gumbs, Bernard Jones, Lawrence Huntley, and several others.

At that time, the CVI team, which was arguably stronger than the other teams on St. Thomas, did not compete officially in the local varsity soccer league. However, Coach Werts organized friendly matches against such Puerto Rico teams as the University of Puerto Rico, Inter-American University, and Catholic University. CVI team won most of these matches, which were usually played at CVI. The CVI soccer team also traveled to other islands to play friendly matches. One of the two trips that I recall from the early 1970s is a trip to St. Kitts, where we played two matches. One match was against Island Side, and the other against Santos. The CVI team tied with Island Side, but lost to Santos, the strongest team on St. Kitts at that time.

The second trip that I recall was made to the Windward Islands. Coach Werts made arrangements for the CVI team to play friendly matches in St. Lucia, Grenada, and Trinidad. We played against the St. Lucia Island B team and won. We also defeated the team from Presentation College in Grenada. The Trinidad match was canceled.

Vincent Cooper -
CVI Yearbook 1970

From time to time, I still smile when I remember a particularly funny incident that involved the CVI soccer team, LIAT Airways, and a restaurant at the airport in Antigua. The CVI Soccer team was traveling on LIAT from St. Thomas to St. Lucia and Grenada, with one stop in Antigua. After we arrived in Antigua, we learned that our connecting flight to St. Lucia was more than two hours late. Our coach contacted LIAT officials to explain that we could not stay overnight in Antigua because we needed to arrive in St. Lucia that same afternoon in order to meet our obligations. Our coach also pointed out that he was travelling with 15 soccer players who had not eaten since morning. In response, the LIAT supervisor made arrangements for the team to have lunch at the airport restaurant, a decision he no doubt later regretted. In less than 20 minutes, all the shelves in the restaurant were empty, the refrigerator was empty, and the kitchen was empty. The entire supply of sandwiches and drinks had been speedily devoured by the soccer team. Consequently, the airport restaurant, the only one available at that time, had to close for the rest of the day.

Dr. Cooper is now a Professor of English and Linguistics at UVI.