TORONTO, Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ – The University of the West Indies today announced that Mr. Charles S. Coffey, O.C., will be honoured as the inaugural recipient of the G. Raymond Chang Award at the sixth annual The University of the West Indies Toronto Benefit Gala on Saturday, March 28, 2015, at the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto.

The G. Raymond Chang Award has been established to honour outstanding individuals who exemplify the leadership and ideals of G. Raymond Chang, O.C., O.J. (1948-2014). Mr. Chang was a recognized outstanding business leader and philanthropist who embodied great humility and commitment to his fellow persons. Chang, who passed away in July 2014, was the Gala’s patron for the past five years.

The UWI Toronto Gala is proud to also award and celebrate other outstanding community leaders for 2015:

Justice Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, O.Q. is the recipient of the Luminary Award, which is given to people of Caribbean Heritage who are outstanding achievers on an international scale in their respective fields or people who have brought to prominence issues which affect the Caribbean.

She is the first Black judge appointed in the history of Québec. She also holds the distinction of being the first Black dean of a Canadian law school (University of Windsor). A trailblazer in social justice and the first black woman to teach law, at the University of Montreal and at the University of Quebec at Montreal.

The Chancellor’s Award is given to Canadian organizations which have contributed significantly to The University of the West Indies and/or the Caribbean or outstanding organizations owned by people of Caribbean Heritage.

The 2015 honourees are Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival and George Brown College.

The Scotiabank Toronto Carnival is an expression of Toronto’s multicultural and multiracial society. In its 46th year it has become a major international event and the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America. An increasing number of attendees and participants come from the U.S., and overseas. Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival is an exciting three-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, revelry as well as visual and performing arts.

Since its founding in 1967, George Brown College has evolved to support the labour needs of a variety of key economic sectors. With three main campuses and several other downtown locations, its alumni serve every major industry in Canada. From the Jamaica Project to the Nine Miles of Smiles initiative, George Brown College has played an influential role in education and health care across parts of the Caribbean.

The Vice Chancellor’s Award is given to people of Caribbean Heritage who have gone on to make significant contributions within their organizations and communities. The 2015 honourees are:

• Mr. Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the world renowned Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). He is also a Film Programmer, Film Critic, and modern day cultural philosopher. As he travels the world searching for the films that emote, transform and create discourse, he remains a respected leader in his community, lover of all cultures.
• Dr. Catherine Chandler-Crichlow, a University of the West Indies alumnus and Executive Director of the Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education (COE). Dr. Chandler-Crichlow has over three decades of talent development experience specializing in the areas of executive and leadership development, curriculum development and implementation, technology-mediated distance learning and program evaluation.

The University of the West Indies Toronto Benefit Gala benefits the University’s Scholarship Fund, that, to date, has awarded almost 200 scholarships. The Patron of the sixth annual Gala will be The Chang Family, with Dr. Sheldon Levy, President and Vice Chancellor, Ryerson University and Dr. Herbert Ho Ping Kong, Co-founder, Centre for Excellence for Education and Practice as acting Co-chairs.

For tickets please order using the online form at www.uwitorontogala.com, or by calling 416-214-7848 or by emailing [email protected].

The University of the West Indies was established in 1948 as a College of the University of London. It achieved full university status in 1962. Today it is the only pan-Caribbean tertiary level institution offering a wide array of diverse and accredited programmes to 45,000 students throughout the region, with campuses in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Anguilla, Antigua, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos.