Feb. 25, 2002 – The University of the Virgin Islands Board of Trustees has authorized the formation of an interim committee to oversee development of the UVI Research and Technology Park.
Also at the board's meeting Saturday on St. Croix, the trustees approved a new associate in applied science degree in process technology.
According to a release from the university, UVI President Orville Kean and Board of Trustees Chair Auguste E. Rimpel Jr. expressed their gratitude to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, the 24th Legislature, Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole for enactment of the legislation establishing the UVI Research and Technology Park on St. Croix. Turnbull signed the measure into law on Thursday.
"We need to publicly acknowledge them and thank them for this milestone," Kean said. "This is a very happy and rewarding event." For Kean, who announced last June that he will retire in September, creation of the Research and Technology Park has been a top priority in the last year.
After Sen. Adelbert M. Bryan had held the bill in his Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee for months, Cole and Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen brought the measure to the floor by special order on Jan. 31, where it was passed by a vote of 14-0, with Bryan absent.
At Saturday's meeting, the trustees also authorized targeting a $5.6 million increase in the appropriation from the V.I. government for Fiscal Year 2003, with the money to go for personnel merit increases.
The associate degree in process technology is aimed at developing a workforce for Hovensa. The two-year program will result from a collaboration between UVI and Hovensa, which will jointly supply faculty and facilities for the program.
Rimpel described passage of the Research and Technology Park legislation and approval of the A.A.S. degree as historic steps for UVI. "The events of this week, culminating today, are an example of our successes as an institution," he said. "This is a major step forward, and I am personally delighted at the relationship that we have been able to develop with Hovensa, the largest operation on the island of St. Croix."
