Sept. 24, 2002 – Saturday night may warm the heart of former University of the Virgin Islands president Orville Kean. UVI, still celebrating the 40th anniversary of the school, will pay tribute to Kean at a Roast and Toast Gala.
The night will include tributes, special presentations and a videography of UVI's history and Kean's career, said a release. Kean has been a member of the UVI family for more than 35 years, and served 12 years as president.
The event, at Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort, will start with cocktails at 7 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m. The color scheme for the gala is ruby and gold. Proceeds from the event will establish an endowed scholarship at UVI in Kean's honor.
Born in St. Thomas, he graduated from Charlotte Amalie High School in 1955. He has degrees from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and University of Pennsylvania.
Higher education in the Virgin Islands had been on his mind even before the college started: young Dr. Kean, now-Gov. Charles Turnbull and now-retired Prof. Marilyn Krigger were among those present at a historic Governor's Conference on Higher Education in 1961, called by Gov. Ralph Paiewonsky to formally propose the idea of a college in the Virgin Island.
Starting at the then-College of the Virgin Islands as assistant professor of mathematics in 1965, Kean worked his way up in the Science and Mathematics Division and, concurrently and subsequently, in the college administration. He was inaugurated as the third president of the institution March 16, 1991, and retired this month of September, 2002.
Tickets for the gala are $100 per person and are available at Modern Music (Havensight), Krystal and Gifts Galore (Tutu Park Mall), St. John Drug Center and UVI’s Reichhold Center Box Office. For ticket information call the Reichhold Center Box Office at 693-1559.
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