UWI honours former principal: Founder of the UWI Fete

Former president George Maxwell Richards was beloved as the “Party President,” but his legacy was refined at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, where, as the “party principal,” he launched the first public all-inclusive fete in Trinidad, the UWI Fete.

In a statement offering condolences to Richards’ family on behalf of the University, principal Prof Brian Copeland recalled how, in 1989, Richards translated his love of TT and its culture into what is now a major fundrasier for the UWI Development and Endowment Fund, from which thousands of students have benefitted. The fete, now in its 29th year, set the template for this type of event, Copeland said.

The fete, Copeland said, was set up to raise funds for students affected by the “debt crisis” that had mired the region in economic contraints in the late 1980s. Today, economic hardships are also having a “tremendous impact” on students. In 1992, the fund offered 19 bursaries; in 2017, it offered 210, and the fete’s contribution to that is something, Copeland said, the university appreciates.

Richards, a professor of chemical engineering, was principal of the University from 1985 to 1996. He died from a heart attack on Monday at the age of 87.

A condolence book will be opened at the campus’ main administration building between the hours of 9 am and 3 pm from today to January 26.