In Trinidad, University of the Southern Caribbean Appoints New President

July 28, 2021 | Maracas Valley, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad | Hayden McKenna/USC Corporate Communication/IAD News Staff

The University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), an Adventist-operated institution, recently announced the appointment of its new president, Dr. Colwick Mervyn Wilson. Wilson becomes the institution’s 29th president following the departure of former president Dr. Hilary Bowman. Bowman, who assumed the USC presidency in 2016, while actively serving as education director of Caribbean Union, continues to serve singularly as the union’s education director.

Dr. Wilson, a native of Guyana, accepted the position after serving as provost and senior vice president at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, since 2017. He has served as professor, researcher and academic leader at Loma Linda University in California, Kettering Health Network in Ohio, and the University of Michigan.

“After an intensive and extensive search for a new president of University of the Southern Caribbean, God provided an impressive candidate in Dr. Colwick Wilson,” said Pastor Kern Tobias, president of the church in the Caribbean Union and chairman of the USC Board of Trustees.  The board noted that he is spiritually grounded, academically gifted, emotionally gracious and committed to personal growth, said Tobias.

“The Board of Trustees is convinced that Dr. Wilson will continue the work of his predecessor and all those pioneers who have laid its foundation,” added Tobias. “He is capable of managing the blended approach to learning as his team continues to prepare the students for selfless service in this world and in God’s kingdom.”

Dr. Wilson began serving as USC president effective July 1, 2021.

An alumnus of USC (formerly Caribbean Union College), Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in theology in 1983. He worked as a ministerial intern then as district pastor in his home church in Belladrum, in Guyana, before emigrating to the United States in 1986. He obtained a master’s degree in leadership and counseling from Eastern Michigan University as well as a master’s and doctorate degree with emphasis in medical sociology and social psychology from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Wilson has a long record of accomplishments in research, academic publications and grant writing. He has expansive experience teaching advanced statistics, social psychology, public health, medical family therapy and applied sociology.

The new president comes ahead of the institution celebrating its 95^th anniversary of providing holistic development and transformative higher education to thousands of students and professionals.

Dr. Wilson describes himself as “process oriented but outcome driven.” He is persuaded by his own experiences that God can turn weaknesses into strengths, provide needed resources and perform the impossible. His broad personal vision for USC is that it continues to shine as a Christian university of excellence.

“I want the university to be known in the region and beyond as an institution that is present in its orientation and future in its imagination,” added Dr. Wilson. He envisions a university that is industry relevant and on the leading edge in its research agenda and curriculum.

Dr. Wilson is accompanied by his wife of 25 years, Deleise Cole-Wilson, an alumna of Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica (formerly West Indies College). She holds a master’s degree in nursing education from Columbia University in New York, and a doctorate in philosophy in nursing from the University of Michigan. They have two adult daughters, Chidinma and Corliss.

Founded in 1927, USC is a private, accredited co-educational institution with a diverse student body in its main campus located in Trinidad and Tobago. USC offers 32 undergraduate programs as well as 10 graduate degrees.

To learn more about the USC, its programs, initiatives and activities, visit usc.edu.tt