Interview with Professor Delroy Louden, Ph.D., FRSPH – President of the Anguilla Community College.
OW - Let’s start with you being very passionateabout education. I want to talk aboutthat firstand foremost.
Delroy Louden - Well education is a major avenuefor socialmobility of the population. Once you have social mobility you can address several issue in the nation. Infrastructure development, human resources development,capacity development.So they provide you with indicators to measurehow well we are doing as a county and how we arewegoing to use our limitedresources where we should develop priority. We don’t have the good fortune of spending as much aswe want sothings like early education, early childhood education thecollege is obviouslycommitted to developing that program. We have the associate’s degree with Cave HillBarbados sand early j childhood educationbutalso weare passionateabout vocationaland technical skills. We think these are some of the much needed skills. They have 2advantages. One is thatitallowsforsome ofpeoplehow may notinitially see themorerigorous versionalgebraandgeometryandso on applyingto them togetsometechnicalskills butfor themto benefit fromthetechnicalskillstheyhave tobe able to read andwrite andhavecomprehensionandvocabulary skills. So youcan’t do one without theother.
Second thing you can meet more human resources in terms of work permits. Once you are trainingpeopleand you havethem in m the pipeline our training program went through City and Guilds of London. Well established, well known over a period of time. You areabletocut downvery much on thenumber ofwork permits thatyou have andyoucan measure theskill setswhichyourrequire andsee if they are any skillsimbalancein your work force and yourpopulation andusethecollege to doyouth training program toaddressthenecessary skillmix which is aprecursorfordevelopment andgoforwardyou have tohave a good skill mix.
OW - Soyou work hand in hand with the Department of Labour on that?
Delroy Louden - We work partially hand in hand with them in terms of the TVET council, the technical and vocational council whichhas just been established. That’swhere we will set the skill set that we needed for the island and then once we have that going the council has beenapproved and is in place so with the newdirector ofthe departmentof labourwe willobviously have to workclosely withthem inmeeting some of the skills needing in the county.
OW - Ok. What do you see asthe important ofcommunity college in the Anguillan context?
Delroy Louden - Wellthe community college is a great leveller. It allows everyone and most people in the population to beginto benefitfromsome tertiary education. Primarily as the cost ofgoingabroadis so expensive these days and withthenecessary visarequires are becomingmuchmore intrusivebut alsoit allows us to meet theskills needed at a greater and moreefficient costand many person who can’tafford to go abroadcan now enterthe tertiaryeducation mix andget some level ofskill level toperform their duties. The community college does more than that. It developsthe linkageand collaboration so that we can use this toprovide most training needs for most for its area. For example with UVI, University of the Virgin Island we have linkages there...So our students can sit right here and finish their bachelorprogramand get theirbachelor’s degreeas oppose to go and dothat.
OW - For the full4 years?
Delroy Louden - After completingthe bachelor program here they get anumberof credits and we can transfer them and they can finish the 2years there.We have the necessary electronic mix now called CKLN. CaribbeanKnowledge and Learning Network where we can link you up electronically to the BVI right here. That gives us another great advantagebut italso gives us another advantage. Ifwe wantto offer a program here and wedon’thaveenoughstudents,BVI have 5 andwe have 4 , total of9 and Antiguahave 6, 15 we canelectronically beam the class toeverybody and everybody can benefit from it.
So it cutsdown in cost in that way also. More importantthan that it allows us to address the overallcapacity needs of the island. That’s what I think community colleges arevery best good at doing. Istosay what areyour humanresourcesneed forcapacity developmentand growthand development?You tellus and we will begin to addressthem foryou by providingthe courses and the requirements and the trainingand the internshipand so on. So that’s a goodopportunitytoget off the ground for a lot ofpeople who would nothaveseen an institutionotherwise.
OW - So the community college is more like a grass root kind of...
Delroy Louden - It’sa grass root buteven if you are not at the grass rootlevel youcan benefitfrom higher level. From example when we do the linkage andcollaboration with theinstitution we allowthe students where who wantto go aboard toeasy thesepathway for going aboardto study becauseof the linkages we have and they can benefitfromthatlinkage. Also asyou know when yourgo abroadto study getting your major rightand gettingthrough the course you need right, take some time. If youstart herebecause the class sizes are so much smaller and we can work with you by the time you are ready togo aboardyou’remuch more seasoned. You’ve gotten all the pre requirements out of the way and so forth. When you go thereyou can finish in a relativelyshorter periodoftime because you haveall thefoundationcourse under your belt and soforth.
It’s a goodinvestment even for the most able of students. So it’s not for the weaker students,it’sfor all students and they can benefit fromthat and then event from going abroad to study. For example youfinish yourassociate degree, you takesome summer course here you can goand finish you degree in18 months in the states or elsewhere.
OW - Your associates degree here they are accredited?
Delroy Louden - They are accredited throughthe University council of Jamaica and through the CCCJ, the Council of Community Council of Jamaica. So that’s where we get ouraccreditationfrom. Just like all of the community colleges.
OW - And they are recognised in the.... what’sthe recognition? Is it in the US, in the UK?
Delroy Louden - Requirement and recognitionin theUS , UK, Canada, right across the board because once CCCJ approves theseprograms and theUniversityCouncil of Jamaica,if you were togo to University Council ofJamaica websiteyou will see all thosecourses theyapproved with them.University College of Nottingham, University of Legister, many Canadian institution abroad. We didn’t want to reinvent the weed, we wanted to piggy back on ma tried and truesystem which has been in place and working veryverywell.
OW - That’s good , thatimportant because a lot of times students from some smaller communitieslinkedAnguillatheygo abroad and theygo to schools thatare notaccredited , they get degreesbut the degreesaren’t really with the paper itsbeingprinted on.
Delroy Louden - I warned everybody from the first day that I came toAnguilla,havingtaughtin the States and Canadaand England to vibe carefulof where theygo. When you look at thejournal of higher education you see manyplaces where the programspeople havegonetoare notworththe paperitswritten on and that’s why ask the studentto come to the college and talk to us and tell us where they aregoingso we call lookat some of theseinstitutionsfor them.
OW - Do you providecounselling then?
Delroy Louden - Yes. We provide guidance and help to youngpeopleand Isay to them be careful where you are goingand makingsure that those programs....
OW - Recently they had acollege fair. They had a number offew schools that they sent to represent to talkto some of the students.
Delroy Louden - Right. Several of the schools in NewYork,Hamptons in Virginia, Howard.
OW - Is thecollege involved in helping toproviding some of the guidance tosaywell this personwantsto come but we don’t thinkit is worththe studentsgoingto school like thesebecause theirprograms aren’taccredited. Do you invite the people who are coming?
Delroy Louden - No we have no say over which institutioncomes torecruit. What we do is wesay to studentsbe careful where you go and those who comes to us. From time totimemy officein particularwe havehelpedpeople to get into schools we know likeHamptonUniversity and Lincoln inPennsylvania andcouple ofuniversities out inMaryland and so forth where weknow thetrackrecord. Morgan State University for exampletheir engineeringprogram and their science program and their public healthprogram. Sothose schools weknoware goodschools andso forth andthen John Jayschool ofcriminaljusticeofexample in New York part of theCityUniversityofNewYorksystem. We do that on an individual basisand say goto theseschools, thisis what you can offer and so forth. It’snotunusualfor usto useourlinkage andcollaboration to say give the amount of credit thisis where when think you shouldplace themwhen they come inbecause we areable to do that. In variable our students who listen to us dowell. They do well and we have a young miss now who wentthrough our guidanceand isnow doingChinese. I encourage students in this dayand ageto takea secondlanguage. There is no reasona young student shouldn’t take Spanish and French in the region. If you want to takeArabicor if you wantto take ChineseorJapanese. If you are doingbusiness todaythen you would be mad not totake a language. Because it gives you so much edge in the market place.
Marketing for exampleyoupack your bags andyougoelsewhere andyou cansay well I have Spanish, I have French. An employer would really love itbecauseremember we are marketing to a wider populationthan wedo think about.
OW - Coming to theendowment and this was your brain child why is it important for the college to maintain an endowment?
Delroy Louden - Well an endowment is an opportunity to do a number ofthings. I call endowment legacygiftsof thefuture andby thatI mean that it allowsthose person in the communityto make a contribution to the college because rememberthe collegecan’tjustsurvive ongovernmentfunding alone. We have to writegrants, we have to get funding forscholarships, we have to provideother resources for the structure for the college. So endowment is a way of givingback. Most places it can be tax written off. We havenot reachedthatstage where it can betacowritten off inAnguillahoweverit canbetaxwrittenoff, United StatesCanada andBritain ifpeoplego throughthe appropriatechannel. For exampleAPANY, Anguilla Progressive Association of NewYork.If you live in newYork and you are payingreasonablerates oftaxes either the 28% orthe33%tax ratein the United States and youwish to give a $100, $500 or$1000 toAnguilla communitycollege when yourgive itthroughAPANY youget the taxright offyourincometax touncleSam. So you pay $1000 less in income tax. You are also contributing to the human resource need of the college and to developing the island.
So it’s a goodwayof giving. On the other hand inthe hospitality industry and people may want to think aboutgiving more. You maywant to name andendowmentafter a cousin, a friend orrelative oryour companyand you maywant to$50, 000,100,000 as the case maybethat goes into anendowmentfund. You may have an insurance policy you want to give to the college. You may haveacousinor a late niece orso on thatpassed on oryourmom oryou want tolaysomething downatthecollege. So you may want tolaysomethingdownin the name ofyourmom oryourfather oryour cousinoryouruncle.So you can also give that way and that givesinto an endowment trust for a particular purpose. So you can give a scholarship, 50,000, 60,000 or you may get a scholarshipfor 10 000 like the Chamber ofCommercehasbeendoingwith theirgolftournament.
Theendowment isfunds set aside. They are not usedin thenormal business ofcollege to run the day to day affairs of the college. They are fundsset asideto establish and strengthen the capacity of the institution to develop and grow in a particular way.
An endowmentfund can be morespecificabout what you wantittodobutit’s a good anideato haveendowmentfundbecauseitaddsequity in thecollege,it can buildupequity over aperiod oftime. You can have it named after a friend or relative or you can just have an endowment fund over a period oftime. It’s the way of giving,giving back to the institutionand making sure.
OW - How much have you raised so far?
Delroy Louden - We have raisedmoremoney for scholarships than endowment. We have been cultivating since last year and people to give to thecollege for endowment. We areinthe process now. Ithink we have 4 prospectivepersonson thelistfor endowmentandIcan’t tell you more untiltheywant torelease thedetailsandhaveeven in activenegotiationwith4 personsto givesubstantially.One to even havea chair of a professorship name in hospitality area named after them and so forth.
OW - How doyour cultivate doing this?
Delroy Louden - Several ways. I and the board normally want to have alittledinner from some time when weinvitepeopleto come andwhen I meetpeople Igo to thehotel and the resortsand so on and meet perspectiveperson. Wheni am comingfrom the flightMiamisometime by virtueofbeingin businesscasesi meet a lot of people that i can talk to butwemeet andcultivatedonorsthough a larger scale throughthediasporacommunity. APNE has a national meetingeach yearwhichis held in this summer and then we do the same thing in Canada and thenwe do the same thing inBritain. We go tothediasporacommunity a and ask them, provide them informationabout the benefitsof giving to the college , cultivate them in terms ofgetting the taxwrite off if they are paying a lot oftax. One way ofwriting offis givingto the college and then byword ofmouth. Then they arecouple of individuals that wewrite to and invite to consider giving to the college. Soi think we have about 4 or 5 differentmechanism depending on how theintroductions are made.
I normally particularlylike to meet whatthosepersonsand spell outwhat the implicationsof the donation is. Then we have the brochure and we have our legalcounsel and the board whocan say what arethe condition underwhich. You know some peoplemighthave aninsurance policy andthey might want to give it to the college. Some people might have ahalfof a lakeofland andthey mightwant to leave tothecollegeand thecollege wouldglad to acceptthosekind ofdonations and makeit clearthat we wantto makesure that their nameif it’s approved and theywanttoto becirculatedthen we willcirculateit to them.
OW - You find that kindof structuregiven isn’t... idon’t think it wasever a part ofthe localculture. You findthat itis aproblem?
Delroy Louden - The whole education processandgettingpeople involved islike aculturalchange anda culturalshift but none the less it is something thathasto bedone. There is nogovernment can build and alsoit’s a way of those giver to say to the community we recognise...if you area business man andyou havebeensenttoin Anguilla and you have been making amoneyout ofthem. Soto putsomething back toeducation of APNE it’senlightento self-interest. You aregiving back but you have tocultivatepeople and particularly you seehere as thereisnotaxincentive then somethingreally needs toapproach the governmenttosee if there is because there i nolocalincome tax here whichwouldbe the traditionalwaymost peoplewouldgive in the states ,Canada andBritainbecauseyou would say the tax write off rather than give it to thegovernmentyou can give it to the college.So we need tothink of amechanism forpeopletogive that particular way.
OW - It’s just a matter of incentivising.
Delroy Louden - Right andyou know and some peoplemight want to give theirdonation overaperiod of time ,3or4or5 yearsmaybenot all in one lump sum but thatthey need to give of course wearegoing to bebuildingup the collegeupa land path. So you may wanttogivetimethe collegea thousand blocks. The cementcompany may want tomakecontribution, the steel company may want to make a contribution. The man on the street may saywell Ican only giveyou $100 come to the college, get anendowment form , fill itout and give the sameamount. We arelaying the foundation of thecollege buildingin terms ofblockingup we can put peoples name throughout thereand then20 , 30years later onyou will go theyandsay who wasOretteWinter and you will saywell he issuch and sucha personaandcontributed to thiscollege andsoforth. So the wordis communitycollege and giving to the communityis awayofgiving anddo it in any form, any formofscholarships andbooksandsoforth andencourage those whoarelivingabroad who may not becomingback to also give to the college.After all, long after we are all gonethis situation is goingtobe here.
OW - You’re familyhas donateda fair bit to the college.
Delroy Louden - Yesit’s in our blood. We are 9 boys and we have done well academically and finically so it’sour turn to give back. In the early childhood education we give a substantial ofbook for the early childhood education program. We continue togive for the technical and vocationeducation programthough my let e father who wasacarpenter. SoI am very passionate inputting more funds in there again this yeartomakesure we have thisscholarshipgoing andcomethis year Ihopewe make anothersupposeto thecollege.
My new book isout so I am giving the copyright and i am saving theroyalties after ipay for thegovernment tax in the state tothe collegeso thatthat money can go into a fund. I am doingsomething in Jamaica toofor my mom in January 8thCouncil Community College of Jamaica. I am establishing the UrminWilliams Loudenscholarship for nursingeducation. Sothe first amount therewillbe$5000 UScollars and then i am puttinganother $5000 nextyearto make it$10 000. For a rural child who wants togo ontoeducation and can’t paypartiallypublic healthnursing so I want to be able toprovidefor that childto go andfinish theirdegree in unsung.
OW - The TVET scholarship that you have here how much is that scholarship?
Delroy Louden - Thescholarship is $1000 and it goesup by $1000 each year untilit reaches $5000. So sometime this year it will become $2000 an then nextyear it will become $3000 until the maximum of $5000.
OW - How many people have been the recipient ofthat?
Delroy Louden - I think either one or two. I thinkwe have given out the first award ithink in the earlyDecember. I think we have given to a couple of people already.
OW - What’s yourvision for the ACC?
Delroy Louden - My vision forACC isthat we don’tknowingly turn anyoneawayin terms ofgetting access totertiaryeducation and thatweprovidea comprehensivearrayofprogramsthat addressesthehuman resources need of theislandandstrengthen testcapacityofthenation’stomeet itsown grosstarget and soforth. Thengloballyandoriginallyi wouldlike tosee thecollegedevelopsomeareaofcompetenceand issue ofgovernance, issues ofresearch and teachingand trainingand particularteachereducationthat is something thatwe candoat early childhoodeducation.
Finally iwouldliketo see Anguillabecome muchmore integratedintothe regional educational system. It’s toofragmented. Some peopleare involved,some peopleare not involved. The professional men and women hereifeltthey did enoughcontinuing education to strengthen their skills. You get qualifiedand after youget qualifiedthat’s theend of it. That’s saddens me morethan anything else. It pains me to seepeople who have obtainedtheirqualification 5 or 10 years ago and dent think that continuingeducation. If youare goingto serveyourpopulation well you haveto do continuing education, good qualityeducation. Go into a meeting.Go into a scientific meeting. Not just to sit downto participate and make a contribution to the meeting. Then at this same time come back and fee, there should be a feedback loop. So when isend inmy staffto ameeting i want them to goto theconference. When theycome back tell me how it hashelp yourownpersonaldevelopment., howithashelp you throng the curriculum and the courseswe eachtodo itbetterand then finally godoes the collegeover allbenefit fromthis. Sopeoplewouldn’treallyaskfor [Inaudible], go to ameeting , sitdownfor3 days,listen and come back and no feedback.That not where itis.Makecontinuing education notso muchcompulsorybut anintegralpart of theacademicoffering if thecountry and his people.