The University of Guyana (UG) yesterday announced that it had shortlisted five candidates in its search for a new Vice-Chancellor and Principal, with interviews and public lectures to form the final stage of the selection process.
In a statement yesterday, Chancellor Sir Ronald Sanders said the post attracted 27 applications from Guyana, the wider Caribbean, Canada and India.
According to Sanders, an initial review by the University’s Search Committee reduced the field to 15 candidates before professors and other senior university specialists in the United Kingdom were invited to assist in evaluating the applicants’ academic credentials and preparing the final shortlist.
The five shortlisted candidates will now proceed to interviews and deliver public lectures before the University Council makes a final appointment.
“The post of Vice-Chancellor is of critical importance to the future of the University and to Guyana’s national development,” Sanders said, adding that the institution must produce graduates equipped with the skills and adaptability needed in a rapidly changing economy while strengthening research, innovation and professional training.
The announcement marks the latest stage in a process initiated earlier this year after the University Council established a Search Committee to identify a successor to Professor Paloma Mohamed. At the time, Sanders said the recruitment process was intended to be “orderly, transparent and merit-based” and that the University was seeking a leader of “intellectual distinction, strategic courage and proven executive capacity” to guide the institution through Guyana’s period of rapid economic transformation.
Mohamed’s contract expires on July 31. She has previously said that she would not seek another term, while noting that she had not resigned and would remain in office until the completion of her contractual tenure. She has served as Vice-Chancellor for seven years after being appointed in 2020 as the University’s first female Vice-Chancellor.
Sanders expressed appreciation for Mohamed’s service to the institution.
He also announced that the University will be administered by a three-member team drawn from its staff between July 31 and the assumption of office of the new Vice-Chancellor. He said the interim arrangement is intended to ensure continuity while the final phase of the recruitment process is completed.
The Chancellor reiterated that the University Council remains committed to a fair, transparent and merit-based selection process and said the public would be updated as the search progresses.
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