UCC Group Executive Chairman Gets National Award
October 11, 2024 - Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs undoubtedly influenced the life choices of Group Executive Chairman of the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC), Dr. Winston Adams, ultimately leading him to a career in educational entrepreneurship.
On National Heroes’ Day, Monday, October 21, Dr. Adams will be conferred with the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Officer (OD) for his outstanding contributions and innovations in the field of higher education.
This will be bestowed during the Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards at King’s House.
Dr. Adams tells JIS News that although his parents and older siblings were entrepreneurs, he never envisioned entrepreneurship as a full-time career for himself.
Instead, he thought his chosen path would have been based in the sciences, an area he loved from his youth.
“I’ve often said to people that I believe I have enjoyed the best of both worlds. I’ve studied the sciences, which was my passion from primary school, but I ultimately went on to pursue a career in educational entrepreneurship,” Dr. Adams says.
The distinguished honouree holds a bachelor’s degree in applied chemistry from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, a degree in chemical engineering from Howard University in Washington DC, and a master’s and a doctorate in Business Administration from Florida International University (FIU).
His journey from the sciences to visionary entrepreneurial leadership showcases a lifelong dedication to empowering individuals and driving national development through education.
“As a lifelong learner, for some time, I have recognised that higher education in Jamaica and, indeed, the region and the world had, undoubtedly, emerged as a global mega-industry. I have always believed that it has and will continue to be the primary force driving the sustainability of development. The fact is, I have also recognised that the thirst for higher education and the potential for Jamaica and the region are enormous,” Dr. Adams points out.
He informs that upon returning to Jamaica in the early 1990s, after studying at Howard University on a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Latin America and Caribbean scholarship from the institution, he recognised that Jamaica was faced with what seemed then to be “an insoluble problem”.
“The country was losing thousands of young and ambitious individuals who sought higher educational opportunities overseas because there were not many recognised or non-traditional higher education programmes on the island for further development through formal training,” he says.
Dr. Adams points out that this option was proving to be expensive and was only available to a few Jamaicans who could afford it.
He further notes that the country was losing several trained persons seeking additional educational and employment opportunities overseas, a development he says was costing the Government more to train and recruit additional personnel.
“I saw an excellent entrepreneurial opportunity and recognised that something had to be done to provide more accessible, high-quality and flexible higher education training programmes to Jamaicans, in both urban and rural areas,” he shares.
This resulted in Dr. Adams pioneering the establishment of the Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) in 1992, which later acquired the then Institute of Management and Production (IMP).
Both entities were merged following the acquisition to initially form the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) in 2004, which subsequently evolved into the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC).
Dr. Adams tells JIS News that, “this was significant, in my view”, noting that he and his wife, Geraldine Adams, were “practically unknown” when they made their successful bid to acquire IMP.
He points out that they were businesspeople who never had formal training in educational leadership.
A proud Dr. Adams shares that the UCC is now best known as “the largest privately owned non-affiliated higher-education institution in the country… averaging some 7,000 students annually”.
“We have now been recognised as a full-fledged university by the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ), the Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (JTEC) and, by extension, the Government of Jamaica, making us one of four recognised universities in the country,” he adds.
The institution, which is headquartered in Kingston, offers courses online and has micro campuses islandwide.
Under Dr. Adams’ leadership, the UCC has successfully forged major alliances with several reputable educational institutions locally and overseas, offering students various courses, from certificates to doctoral degrees.
These include the FIU, Penn State University, University of Florida, Howard University and University of London.
The UCC also holds global recognition from Accreditation Service for International Schools, Colleges and Universities (ASIC), with premier status for its commendable areas of operation.
Dr. Adams further informs that the UCC has since evolved into the UCC Group of Companies, comprising eight subsidiaries.
He tells JIS News that being recognised by his country with a national award is a “humbling experience’ that could not have come at a better time, as the UCC is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
The 2024 national honouree, who was on vacation with his family in Toronto, Canada, when he got the call about his selection, says he is happy for the recognition.
“I was indeed pleasantly surprised and grateful that the national awards committee thought I was eligible for such a prestigious award, and I give God all the glory,” he says.
Dr. Adams indicates that if he were to dedicate the award, he would start with his late father, and his mother who now lives in Canada.
“[My parents] were motivating factors for me. My father taught us discipline and resilience in his own way, as a successful businessman in Clarendon,” he recounts.
Dr. Adams says he would also dedicate the award to his children, and wife who has been a partner in the business.
The esteemed awardee, who is a Justice of the Peace (JP), is the Immediate Past President of the Kiwanis Club of North St. Andrew and a member of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica’s Education Committee.
Source: Jamaica Information Service
