The University of Guyana (UG) yesterday announced that Professor Stafford Griffith will head a transition team following the end of the contractual term of Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin as Vice-Chancellor on 31 July 2026.
It brought to a close seven years of service by Mohamed-Martin as the University’s principal academic and administrative officer.
In a release, UG said that to ensure continuity of leadership and the uninterrupted conduct of the University’s academic, administrative and financial affairs, the University Council has established a Transitional Management Team to oversee the day-to-day operations of the University until a new Vice-Chancellor is appointed.
The Transitional Management Team will be chaired by Professor Griffith, Professor at the University of Guyana and Professor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies. The release said that Professor Griffith has had a distinguished career in higher education across the Caribbean, having served in a number of senior leadership positions at The University of the West Indies, including Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Five Islands Campus, Regional Director of the Office for Online Learning, Director of the School of Education, and Deputy Dean of the Mona Campus.
Joining him on the Transitional Management Team is Dr Diana Devika Gobin, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Finance and Administration) of the University of Guyana. The release said that Dr Gobin has more than eighteen years of experience in higher education and has served in a range of academic and administrative leadership positions, including Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. She has also played a significant role in the University’s financial administration, academic development and institutional governance, and holds a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Innovation, an International MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and a Bachelor of Social Science in Management.
The third member of the Transitional Management Team will be the incoming Chair of the Committee of Deans, who is expected to be elected next week.
The release said that the Transitional Management Team will manage the University’s day-to-day affairs under the oversight of the Chancellor and the University Council until the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor.
The search for the University’s next Vice-Chancellor is continuing. Following a comprehensive and rigorous international search process, four candidates have been shortlisted and are proceeing through the final stages of consideration by the University Council, the release added.
On behalf of the University Council, Chancellor and Chair of Council, Sir Ronald Sanders, expressed appreciation to Professor Mohamed-Martin for her service and commitment to the University during her tenure.
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