Dr. Lisa Vasciannie, who will assume leadership of the Department of Government, The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona, on 1 August says she is committed to advancing the department’s impact on national development.

This, she said, will be done through the department’s core undergraduate and graduate programmes in Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations.

“These offerings are crafted to prepare students for meaningful careers in the civil service, policy-making, diplomacy, education and academia on both national and international platforms. The department strives to anticipate and respond to the evolving needs of local and regional employers by cultivating graduates who possess both specialised expertise and versatile, transferable skills, preparing them for opportunities in the public and private sectors a

s well as regional and international organisations,” she said.

Dr Vasciannie, who is a senior lecturer in International Relations, is succeeding Professor Suzette Haughton as head of the Department of Government.

She said that she values her place in the department’s longstanding tradition of scholarship and advocacy from the early 1960s, and vowed  to carry forward this record of scholarship for national and regional development through the department’s current scholars who specialise in several areas, ranging from public and foreign policy, e-governance, local government, security studies, international political economy, blue economy, democratic governance, terrorism, community development, political polling, leadership, post-colonial studies, artificial intelligence, and other fields.

In addition, Dr Vasciannie said she and her team plan to maintain the mandate of engaging stakeholders, including regional governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, public and private sectors and most importantly, students and prospective students. The department, she said, is constantly reviewing its curriculum, introducing updated degree programmes and plans to offer flexible short courses through the newly launched UWI STAR to address emerging challenges and the shifting demands of the labour market.

“Integral to this vision is the continued provision of an empowering and dynamic environment for students, fostered by vibrant student-led organisations such as the Governance Society, Future Policy Leaders Club, and Model United Nations Club,” said Dr Vasciannie. She added that under her leadership, the department will draw upon a strong tradition of enriching student experience through internships, simulations, seminars, professional and life skills sessions. These will feature voices from a wide array of sectors including ambassadors, international civil servants, human rights advocates, trade negotiators, environmental specialists, media professionals, and alumni.

At the same time, Dr Vasciannie, noting that courses are designed to cultivate a robust spirit of debate and enquiry, probing ideas and defending positions among faculty and students, said she will be seeking to  continue exposing students to a broad spectrum of thought processes and scholarship, engaging with diverse viewpoints and evolving trends and ideas from all parts of the world. The department, she said, actively encourages independent research skills and  academic rigour and integrity.

“As a department we are not afraid to pursue big ideas, including the place of history in the formulation of Caribbean policy, the role of globalisation and regionalism in shaping and responding to these positions and the standing of Caribbean states in the contemporary world,” she said.

She stated, too, that The UWI’s Department of Government  actively encourages the cultivation of diverse perspectives on contemporary issues, including the role of the State in economic development, reducing  social inequality in the Caribbean, exploring issues of political participation, voter apathy, security, democratic governance, and more generally how to advance the prospects of developing countries in the face of pressures related to climate change, global disparities in  resource allocation, and challenges in the international political economy.
Dr Vasciannie holds a Liberal Arts Diploma from the Cathedral School in Lund, Sweden, a BSc in International Relations, an MSc in Government (International Relations), and a PhD in Government from The UWI, Mona.

She has just completed a stint as Associate Dean, Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation, Faculty of Social Sciences, and has written on aspects of Jamaican foreign policy, Caribbean and hemispheric affairs, and has observed elections for the Organization of American States and the Commonwealth.