Bartlett heads honourees for NCU Development Foundation’s Impact Gala

MINISTER OF Tourism Edmund Bartlett heads the list of people who will be honoured at the Northern Caribbean University International Development Foundation’s (NCUIDF) Impact Gala tomorrow.

The other honourees are Pamela Appelt, retired judge of the Canadian Court of Canadian Citizenship; Byron C. Robinson, chairman of Byron Robinson Educational Foundation; and Dorothea F. Robinson, corporate secretary of Byron Robinson Educational Foundation.

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, is the patron of the NCUIDF Gala.

Bartlett has been recognised for his wideranging expertise and accomplishments, having served the Jamaican Government over 35 years, working in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Born in St Mary, Judge Appelt served for 11 years as judge of the Court of Canadian Citizenship, the first African-Canadian woman to hold this position.

She migrated to Canada in 1966 and served as a board member of the United Way of Greater Toronto, an adviser to the president of NCU; a patron of PACE Canada in Jamaica and Canada; and is a founding member of the Black-Jewish dialogue of B’nai Brith. In 2008, she was honoured by the Government of Jamaica with the Order of Distinction for service to Jamaica and the Diaspora in Canada. In 2002, she received an honorary doctorate of laws from NCU.

Robinson is chairman of the Byron Robinson Educational Foundation, Inc. Born in Mandeville, he attended West Indies Training College, now NCU. While still a graduate student at Meharry Medical College, he received the Jamaica Independence Award in 1964 and in 2007, he received the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for NCU. He is a Fellow of the American College of Oral Surgeons, the International Association of Oral Surgeons, and member of several other professional and business organisations. He has also authored several published research papers and successfully patented several promising biochemical compounds for cancer treatment.

Dorothea Robinson was born in Aruba and transferred to West Indies Training College after seventh grade. After five years in Jamaica, she emigrated to the United States, where she enrolled at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. She received her MA degree from New York University School of Education in 1972 and subsequently taught at Boston University School of Nursing. In 2007, she received an Honorary Doctorate (D.Litt.) degree from NCU in recognition of over 35 years of humanitarian and community service to individuals and institutions.

The primary objective of the NCUIDF is to raise funds and execute vital capital development and improvement initiatives at NCU.