Beloved educator Dr Kathryn Shields Brodber has died
Published:Friday | March 27, 2026 | 12:07 AMPaul H. Williams/Gleaner Writer
Dr Kathryn Shields Brodber, a retired senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies, died on March 11 after a long illness. Her life will be celebrated next Tuesday at Webster Memorial United Church in St Andrew, starting at 10 a.m.
Dr Shields Brodber began her teaching career at her alma mater, The Queen’s School, where she taught language and literature.
“She was an educator par excellence ... Those of us who benefitted from her expressive and engaging teaching style at The Queen’s School in the ‘70s can still quote from African literature and Shakespeare with equal enthusiasm and recall … So significant was her influence on nurturing our appreciation of the written word,” Valerie Gordon, a former Queen’s School student, wrote on Facebook.
In an online post, the Queen’s School Alumnae Association said: “Our dear Queen, Kathryn Wilkins, was a Girl Guide, and an exceptionally accomplished musician. Many will remember her playing the piano for morning assembly, and for numerous Queen’s events, and also performing on the violin.”
Dr Shields Brodber attended the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, earning a Bachelor of Arts special honours degree in English from 1968 to 1971, followed by a Diploma in Education in the teaching of English from 1974 to 1975, during which she received a distinction in the practice of teaching.
She completed her Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1987 in linguistics and language education, producing a thesis on language variation in Jamaican classrooms. Her research focused on language use in Jamaican radio talk shows, and she published numerous academic papers on the subject. Her most cited work is the 1997 paper Requiem for English in an English-speaking Community: The Case of Jamaica. She also authored the textbook Communication Studies for CAPE – 2nd Edition: A CXC Study Guide.
Dr Shields Brodber began her employment with UWI as temporary lecturer in the teaching of English in the then Faculty of Education in 1977. In 1979, she was appointed lecturer in the then Department of Linguistics and Use of English in the then Faculty of Arts and General Studies. She was promoted to senior lecturer in the current Department of Language, Linguistics and Philosophy (DLLP) in August 2000, according to a statement issued on UWI’s Mona Messaging system.
The statement continued: Over the years, Dr Shields Brodber (co-)designed and taught various undergraduate and graduate-level courses in linguistics, as well as undergraduate courses in the English Language Section, including The Use of English, Language: Exposition and Argument, and The Art of Public Speaking. She also served as head of department from August 2002 to July 2005, and from August 2008 to July 2011, and as deputy dean for graduate matters in the Faculty of Humanities and Education in 2011.
DYNAMIC STYLE
“Her dynamic teaching style and effervescent personality endeared her to both students and staff … A beloved educator and colleague, Dr Shields Brodber retired in 2012, but continued teaching in the DLLP as an adjunct lecturer until the 2024–2025 academic year … The University extends condolences to the family, friends and past students of Dr. Kathryn Shields Brodber,” the UWI statement added.
Her former colleagues remembered her as a model of graciousness and generosity, describing her as kind and considerate. Among them is retired philosophy professor Dr Lawrence Bamikole of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, who joined the DLLP teaching staff when Dr Shields Brodber was head of department in 2002.
“I owe a lot of gratitude to Dr Shields Brodber for my academic and intellectual development at UWI, and when I was promoted professor, Dr Brodber again invited me to Linstead to celebrate my success … Dr Shields Brodber had a tremendous influence on my family when they joined me in Jamaica in 2004,” he said.
“She ensured that my family, especially my wife, received and enjoyed the best Jamaican care available. The Bamikoles will ever remember you, Mama Brodber, for your kindness and generosity … Dear Mama Brodber, as you have gone to join your ancestors, your good works and contributions to scholarship and human development live after you.”
Former student and colleague Dr Caroline Dyche told The Gleaner: “For me, Kathryn was also teacher, mother-figure, colleague and friend, since I met her in her capacity as my Use of English lecturer and seminar instructor in 1979 when I entered the then Faculty of Arts and General Studies straight out of high school to pursue my undergraduate studies. Ten years later, it was Kathryn who recruited me to be the face of the ‘Fundamentals of English’ proficiency course, thereby beginning my career as lecturer at The UWI Mona campus.”
“And so, as I retire this year, I give thanks to this woman of God, Kathryn Brodber, for her faith in me, her support over the years, the role model she was to so many, one who epitomised resilience, joie de vivre, hospitality par excellence, interest in and, most notably, care for the welfare of those she encountered along her life’s walk,” she concluded.