Jamaicans receive UWI honour

Double world-record holder Usain Bolt and business executive Earl Jarrett are among five Jamaicans named honorary graduands of the University of the West Indies (UWI) this year.

The others are banker Minna Israel, Professor Lenworth Jacobs and author Dr Erna Brodber.

Bolt, Jarrett and Israel will be conferred with the honorary doctor of laws, while Jacobs and Brodber will receive a doctor of the sciences and doctor of letters, respectively.

The five are among 20 people the UWI describes as 'Caribbean icons' who will be conferred with honorary degrees during its annual graduation ceremonies across the region later this year.

The UWI, in a statement released yesterday, said Bolt was being recognised for his athletic prowess, pointing to his record-breaking performances at the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.

Jarrett, who has served as general manager of the Jamaica National Building Society since 1999, will be honoured for his contribution to the country's banking sector.

Brodber, the UWI said, is being honoured for using her writings "to offer a measure of healing to those with untold stories".

Cricket great Brian Lara and St Lucia Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy are among the other regional standouts to be honoured by the university.

The ceremonies start with the open-campus graduation in St Lucia on October 15 and end at the Mona campus on November 5.