Recalling Selwyn Ryan: A Treasured Mentor, Colleague and Friend

(Global Frontier Advisory and Development Services) It is with deep regret that I learned of the death of Professor Emeritus Selwyn Ryan. I extend to his wife Jan, his children Michele and Kwame and other relatives my deepest sympathy at this time of their grief.  It is my hope that they will be comforted by reflecting on the  many good times they shared and the legacy of his outstanding scholarship and advocacy.  

Among them were  his contributions  to public discourse in his weekly columns in the Trinidad and Tobago Express over the decades and   his contributions to several national, regional and international  commissions and symposia.  Indeed, his critical thinking will continue to resonate. He was truly an outstanding  political historian who helped us to understand the reality of the Caribbean Region in the context of a changing world. 
 
My association with Selwyn dates back to the mid 1970s, when he joined the staff of UWI, St. Augustine but specifically in the mid 1980s when he was appointed Director  of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) St Augustine while I was University Director for the Institute’s regional programme. Together with Prof. Joycelyn Massiah, Director of ISER Cave Hill,  I believe  we helped to sustain and even rebrand the Institute as a focal point of new directions in Caribbean economic and social policy research and the use of the new information and data collection technologies.

The proliferation of studies, seminars and publications attest to the Institute’s critical role.  Also, the ability of the Institute to attract endowments to support research for the Faculty of Social Sciences and for its  outreach and  partnerships with institutions  and agencies regionally and globally are  worthy of note. 

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Source: CARICOM TODAY