The University of the Virgin Islands celebrates the anniversary
of its March 16, 1962 founding with Charter Month activities
throughout the month of March.
The official Charter Day Ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. on Monday,
March 16. Members of the UVI community can attend the
videoconferenced ceremony in the first-floor conference room
of the Administration and Conference Center on the St. Thomas
campus and in the Great Hall on UVI's St. Croix campus.
Guests at the ceremony, which marks the University's
47th anniversary, will be Ian Tomlinson and Reginald
Vigilant, UVI alumni and founders of OmniSystems, Inc., an
information technology firm based in Vienna, Va.
The activities scheduled on both campuses, include a walk/run,
several performances, Afternoon on the Green's 20th Anniversary,
and the Alfred O. Heath Distinguished Lecture Series featuring Dr.
David Walton. Both campus libraries will also feature a Charter Day
library display. Most of the activities will be videoconferenced
between the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses.
Click here for a
printable flyer of Charter Month Activities.
Friday, March 6 - Members of the UVI Carnival troupe will display the troupe's costume prototypes from 4:30 until 7:30 p.m. in the Dining Pavilion on the St. Thomas campus. The UVI Carnival troupe will convene its first general meeting of members who will participate in the 2009 VI Carnival Adults Parade. "Early Bird" discounts apply to costumes paid in full on this day. For further information please contact Student Activities Supervisor Junie Violenes at 693-1111.
Sunday, March 8 - The University of the Virgin Islands celebrates 20 years of food and family fun with the 20th Anniversary of Afternoon on the Green, the University's well-known "friendraiser" that showcases the favorite dishes of the island's best cooks. The fun begins at noon on the St. Thomas campus golf course. Music will be provided by Top Notch band until 5 p.m., followed by jazz until 7 p.m. with the UVI Jazz Ensemble. The Mungo Niles Cultural Dancers will also perform. For further information please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 693-1040.
Thursday, March 12 - A Charter Month Archery Tournament will take place from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on UVI's St. Croix campus. For further information contact Coach Bruce Wray at 692-4139.
Friday, March 13 - The Virgin Islands community
is invited to participate in the eighth annual 5K Queen Mary
Highway Walk/Run set for 6:30 a.m. on Friday, March 13. The run,
part of UVI's Charter Month celebration, begins at Kmart in
Sunshine Mall and ends on the St. Croix campus. Awards will go to
the top male and female finishers. Registration for faculty, staff
and friends is $12. The fee for UVI students and children is $7.
Participants will receive a commemorative t-shirt and refreshments.
The event is co-sponsored by UVI and the V.I. Pace Runners
association. For details, call 692-4000, 692-4236 or
692-4228.
Saturday, March 14 - UVI dinner/dance at Wyndham
Sugar Bay Resort "Celebrating 40 Years of Nursing Education at
CVI/UVI". The occasion will commemorate the first nursing class to
graduate from CVI/UVI. The event begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $75.
Proceeds will benefit the UVI Nursing Program and the Roy Lester
Schneider Hospital. For more information please contact Pamela
Toussaint at 693-1551.
Saturday, March 14 - UVI Board of Trustees meeting, 9 a.m. - Great Hall, St. Croix campus.
Saturday, March 14 - Reichhold Center for the Arts concert, "Dance Brazil," 8 p.m. St. Thomas - Dance Brazil fuses traditional Afro-Brazilian movements of capoeria, candomble and samba with modern dance. The company will perform "The Ritual," paying homage to the Bahia region of Brazil. For tickets contact the Reichhold Center Box Office at 693-1559
Sunday, March 15 - St. Thomas chapter of Golden Key Honour Society induction ceremony will take place in the ACC building on the St. Thomas campus at 2 p.m.
Monday, March 16 - At 9 a.m. the University
community will celebrate Charter Day with the official Charter Day
Ceremony. The ceremony will take place in the St. Thomas campus
Administration and Conference Center's First Floor Conference Room
and the Great Hall, St. Croix campus.
Monday and Tuesday, March 16-17 - The Health
Services Office on UVI's St. Croix campus will conduct the
10th annual Health Fair on March 16 and 17 at the
Cafetorium. The fair will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days.
Free services such as cholesterol and blood screening will be
provided by the V.I. Health Department as well as the Health
Services Office. Licensed Practical Nurses from the St. Croix
Educational Complex will provide volunteer assistance. A blood
drive will be held in conjunction with the Juan Luis Hospital. The
Lieutenant Governor's Office will present insurance information and
the UVI Research and Extension Center will present a nutrition
program. The Health Services Office will also kick off its
first Women's Health Awareness Nutrition and Weight Loss
program. For more information, contact Health Services
Administrative Assistant Irene Hatchett-Sealey at 692-4208.
Wednesday, March 18 - The Student Government
Association on UVI's St. Croix campus will host the third annual
SOS (Shadow Our Students Program) Program on Wednesday, March 18.
The program is designed to build mentoring relationships between
UVI students and graduating seniors in local high schools. Students
will have the opportunity to see first hand the wealth of academic
opportunities, professional development initiatives and
extra-curricular activities available at the University.
Additionally, they will be given the opportunity to shadow students
in their prospective fields of study and attend a UVI social event.
The highlight of this year's event will be a presentation by
motivational guest speaker UVI Professor Richard Caldwell. The
day's theme is "Chartering the Course to Excellence." For details,
contact SGA Vice President Sandra Pierre Louis at 692-4191 or Hedda
Finch-Simpson at 692-4228.
Thursday, March 19 - UVI's Research and Public
Service (RPS) component will conduct an open house from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, in room 133 of the Research and
Extension Center on the St. Croix campus. Members of the UVI
community and the general public are cordially invited to mingle
and interact with staff and to get a hands-on experience of the
variety of programs and activities that this component offers to
our community.
Friday, March 20 - The Alfred O. Heath
Distinguished Lecture Series will feature physician, humanitarian
and global health expert Dr. David Walton who volunteers with
Partners in Health. Dr. Walton divides his time between Brigham and
Women's Hospital in Boston and Hopital de Lascahobas in Haiti,
where he serves as associate director. Dr. Walton's lecture begins
at 6 p.m. in Chase Auditorium (B110) on the St. Thomas campus and
will be videoconferenced to Room 401 in the Melvin Evans Center on
the St. Croix campus.
Saturday, March 21 - The UVI Concert Band will
present a benefit spring semester concert entitled "To God be the
Glory" at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, at the Christchurch
Methodist Chursh in Market Square. The band will be under the
direction of UVI Professor Austin A. Venzen. Special guest artists
will be Portia and Marcus Norkaitis, Drew Bowers, Detra Davis, the
Addelita Cancryn Junior High Choir, the Christchurch Jubaliers, the
New Herrnhut Men's Chorale, The Morgan Quartet, the UVI Men's
Chorale, the Calvary Baptist Quintet, and Lorna Freeman with the
Frederick Evangelical Lutheran Church and Sts. Peter and Paul
Cathedral choirs. Tickets - $15 for adults and $7 for students -
are available at the UVI Bookstore, the UVI Humanities Office,
Nora's Beauty Palace and from UVI band members.
Sunday, March 22 - The UVI St. Croix campus
will present a Cultural Extravaganza beginning at 6 p.m. in the
Cafetorium. For further information please contact Dr. Shirley
Highfield at 692-4109.
Friday, March 27 - UVI's Second Annual Model
United Nations conference will take place from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30
p.m. in the Cafetorium on the St. Croix campus. For information
contact Dr. Kula Francis at 692-4065.
Saturday, March 28 - Sixth Annual Emerging Caribbean Scientists Spring Research Symposium from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Cafetorium on the St. Croix campus. For information contact Dr. Velma Tyson at 692-4157.
Saturday, March 28 - Reichhold Center for the
Arts concert - Gregory Isaacs and Tarrus Riley, 8 p.m. - Dubbed the
"Cool Ruler" after his album of the same name, Gregory Isaacs is a
titan among Reggae musicians. Tarrus Riley's hit single "She's
Royal" is a staple on radio stations throughout the
Caribbean.
Saturday, March 28 - The Miss UVI
Ambassadorial Competition for 2009-2010 will be held on the
University's St. Croix campus at 8 p.m. on March 28 in the Student
Center. The pageant's theme is "Charting the Course to Excellence."
Competitors are JaeDee Caines, Carice Glasgow and Christina
Clement. Caines is a communications major on the St. Thomas campus.
Glasgow is a computer science major on the St. Croix campus.
Clement is a biology major on the St. Croix campus. Tickets are $15
and are available from the UVI Bookstores on both campuses, Urban
Threadz and Alliance Clothing. Photos of the contestants are
featured in the current issue of the Dateline: UVI
newsletter, which is available from the Public Relations section of
the UVI web site - www.uvi.edu -
and from this direct link.
Saturday, March 28 - There is
still time to join the UVI Carnival troupe that will participate in
the Adults Parade of St. Thomas 2009 Carnival on May 2. Drawings of
the troupe's costume designs are available on the Carnival page of
the UVI web site - www.uvi.edu - select Arts & Events under the
Visitors tab or go to this UVI Carnival 2009 link. The web page also
includes information on upcoming committee meetings and troupe
practice sessions.
Members of the UVI Carnival Committee plan to host a troupe registration table at the Miss UVI Ambassadorial Pageant scheduled for March 28 on St. Croix. Information is also available from UVI Student Activities Offices at 693-1111 on St. Thomas or 692-4228 on St. Croix
Mocko Jumbies, under the direction of UVI Professor Dr. David
Smith, will again be featured as part of the troupe. Dr. Smith is
looking for fresh talent to join the veteran Mocko Jumbies who are
planning to participate. Anyone interested in joining the Mocko
Jumbies group should contact Dr. Smith via email at or call 693-1257.
Additional events will be added as information becomes
available.