The University of the Virgin Islands will celebrate its 55th anniversary (the Emerald Jubilee) during March with multiple events and activities. Originally chartered by the 4th Legislature on March 16, 1962, the then College of the Virgin Islands served the community as a publicly funded, co-educational, liberal arts institution. Today UVI offers 46 degree programs including 37 undergraduate degrees and nine graduate degrees through five schools and colleges: Business, Education, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Nursing, and Science and Mathematics. The university now offers a rigorous doctoral program where students can obtain a Ph.D. in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change.
“Charter Day is always a special moment to reflect on UVI’s historic and transformative journey in higher education,” said UVI President David Hall. “It is an extra special moment this year because 2017 marks the 55th anniversary of the founding of the University of the Virgin Islands. It is also the year that the Virgin Islands commemorates the Transfer Centennial. All of these special landmarks will converge to create an inspiring and memorable occasion.”
UVI Emerald Jubilee Events include:
o UVI Little Theatre Presents “Strong Currents” – opening March 16
o The UVI 5K Queen Mary Walk/Run – March 17
o UVI Charter Day Concert – March 17
o Afternoon on the Green – March 19
o Playing Ring Tea Meeting – “A Walk Through VI Culture and History” – March 25
*Voices of Inspiration Choir Concert – March 26
Play: “Strong Currents: A Tribute to Austin ‘Tom’ Clarke”
“Strong Currents: A Tribute to Austin ‘Tom’ Clarke” was written and directed by UVI’s own David Edgecombe, UVI associate professor of communication. Based on Clarke’s novels, “The Meeting Point” and “Storm of Fortune,” the play will be performed at UVI’s Little Theater in the Classroom Administration Building at 8 p.m. on March 16, 17, 18, 24 and 25; and at 7 p.m. on March 19. Tickets are $5 for students and $15 for general admission; they are available at the UVI Bookstore, the Human Resources Center in the Administration and Conference Center Building (ACC), and online at www.reichholdcenter.org.
Queen Mary Walk/Run
The 16 annual UVI 5K Queen Mary Walk/Run is set for the morning of March 17. This event will move from the Sunshine Mall to UVI’s Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. Registration is $10. Pre-registration for this event began Feb. 27 and will end March 16. The first 70 registered participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt; breakfast will be provided at the end of the race. Prizes will be awarded to the first and second overall male and female walkers/runners.
For more information, visit: http://www.uvi.edu/announcements/articles/current/uvi_walk_run.aspx, email shanta.roberts@uvi.edu, or call 692-4162.
UVI Charter Day Concert
Also, scheduled for 8 p.m. on March 17, the UVI Charter Day Concert will take place at the Reichhold Center for the Arts. This performance will feature the UVI Music Department presenting its Concert Band, Concert Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Steelpan Ensemble and other small ensembles. Admission will be $20 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets are available at the Reichhold Center Box Office. For more information, contact Joseph H. Francis Jr. at 693-1340 or the box office at 693-1559.
Playing Ring Tea Meeting – A Walk Through VI Culture and History
Join the Reichhold Center for the Arts at 6 p.m. on March 25, for “Playing Ring: Tea Meeting,” an original performance art project that explores the culture and history of the U.S. Virgin Islands through storytelling, music and dance. The script for this production hangs on the framework of a traditional St. Croix tea meeting that explores the social and cultural evolution of the U.S. Virgin Islands from before Transfer Day until now. During intermission, a complimentary sampling of traditional treats will be served with tea.
“Playing Ring” will also incorporate dance and music, to be performed by local culture bearers such as 73rd Army Band, Mungo Niles, Macislyn Bamboula Dancers, Stanley and The Ten Sleepless Knights, the St. Croix and St. Thomas Heritage Dancers, Voices of Love, Louis Ible and the Caribbean Ritual Dancers to name just a few.
UVI Charter Day Program
UVI’s Annual Charter Day program will take place at 10 a.m., Friday, March 24, with featured keynote speaker Senate President Myron Jackson. The program will be a special celebration featuring lively music from Dion Parson and Friends, and it will include showcasing students who are a part of the artist-in-residency program at the university. It will also include UVI’s Voices of Inspiration Community Choir on the Sheen Campus, poetry and other creative contributions from students in the UVI’s Humanities and Honors programs. In line with the twin milestones this year, the program’s theme will be “An Emerald Celebration for the Centennial Commemoration,” taken from the university’s anticipated St. Thomas Carnival parade entry.
Voices of Inspiration Community Choir
Charter Day festivities will conclude with “When the Praises Go Up! – Bridging the Gap” by the Voices of Inspiration Community Choir (VOI). The concert will take place at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., Sunday, March 26, at the James C. Savage Theater (the former Good Hope School campus). Tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for children, and are available at Jackie’s Beauty Supply, Francis Muffler or through UVI VOI Choir members. Special group rates are available.
For more information about the University of the Virgin Islands, visit www.uvi.edu.
