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Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. has proclaimed 2012 as the “50th Anniversary and Jubilee Year of the University of the Virgin Islands” to honor the University's half century of academic excellence and community service.
For 50 years, the University of the Virgin Islands has delivered educational programs and services dedicated to providing higher education opportunities for the territory's residents, as well as for people throughout the Caribbean. The University has also provided responsive community service through the establishment of partnerships and collaborations with other agencies while engaging in innovative research with entities within and outside of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Caribbean region.
“Our University has served as a shining beacon for Virgin Islanders seeking an outstanding education in these islands for half a century. It has enriched the territory in countless ways over the years, and on this special jubilee anniversary it is appropriate for all Virgin Islanders to recognize this venerable institution for its contributions to our community in years past, currently and going forward for future generations,” de Jongh said.
The University of the Virgin Islands was chartered by the Fourth Legislature on March 16, 1962 as the College of the Virgin Islands—a publicly funded, coeducational, liberal arts institution. It opened its first campus on St. Thomas in 1963 and its second campus on St. Croix in 1964.
Ten years after its founding, the College of the Virgin Islands was awarded land-grant status by the U.S. Congress, thus allowing for the establishment of an Agricultural Experiment Station and a Cooperative Extension Service. The College was renamed University of the Virgin Islands in 1986 to reflect the growth and diversification of its academic curricula, community and regional services and research programs. In that same year, the University was designated as one of America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities by Congress.
The University of the Virgin Islands holds active membership in many higher education associations, including the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association and is an active member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Association for Higher Education, the Association of Governing Boards, the National Association for Equal Opportunity, the National Association of State University and Land Grand Colleges, the American Council on Education, the Association of Caribbean Information Systems and the Association of Caribbean Universities and Research Institutes.
The University offers numerous associate and baccalaureate degree programs; six master's degree programs; an educational specialist degree program; and certificate workforce training courses through the University's Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning Center.
Approximately 2,600 full-time and part-time students are enrolled at UVI's two campuses, receiving a high-quality, affordable liberal arts education in a culturally diverse environment. The University boasts more than 6,000 alumni who have excelled as physicians, lawyers, justices, scientists, mathematicians, university and government administration officials, teachers, and civil servants.
The University remains committed to providing exceptional programs and services to current and future students while partnering with government and private entities, collaborating with donors, and forging new and expanded relationships with higher education institutions and research facilities within and outside the Caribbean region.
The University will host Jubilee kick-off receptions on Jan. 25 at the St. John Academic Center; Jan. 26 at the UVI Sports and Fitness Center on St. Thomas and Jan. 27 at the Great Hall on the St. Croix campus. Other events throughout the Jubilee Year will include Homecoming on March 1, a Charter Day ceremony on March 16, and many more symposiums, lectures and special events.
Governor de Jongh calls upon all Virgin Islanders to participate in the programs, ceremonies and activities that will take place throughout 2012 to honor and recognize the University of the Virgin Islands and its Board members, faculty, staff and students, past and present, for their continued commitment to creating higher education opportunities to traditional and non-traditional students in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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