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The Alumni Relations Office continued to give direct
support to student events like Dorm Dinner, Annual
International Student Final Year Dinner, Annual Student
Leadership Conference.
Donations totaling US$5,500.00 was received from
the South Florida Chapter towards scholarships for
students.
THE CENTRE FOR THE ARTS (CFA)
The Centre for the Arts (CFA) was established in 1998
with a mandate to help individual students unleash their
creative energy towards developing their full potential.
It focuses on education in the Visual and Performing
Arts, cultural training and professional development
through elective and extracurricular programmes.
The Centre supports the cultural needs of the University
and wider populace through the staging of cultural
productions, presentations and consultation; providing
professional performances by the UTech, Jamaica
Art and Theatre Ensemble; and workshops in the
creative arts. The Centre is also responsible for rental
and guided tours of the Caribbean Sculpture Park, the
open-air museum which it created and in which it sits.
Visual and Performing Arts Programmes
Student Enrolment and Participation
The Centre for the Arts attracted over three hundred
(300) students to its Visual and Performing Arts
programmes, eighty-two (82) of whom were from the
Elective Programmes in Music, Drama and Dance. As
part of their overall assessment in the programmes
for the year, students performed at over 15 University
events, including the annual cultural showcase, long
service awards function and the annual graduation
ceremony.
Donation of Instruments for Music Programme
Chancellor, the Hon. Edward Seaga, ON, PC donated a
20-piece set of musical instruments from his personal
collection to the Centre at the 2014 Academic Induction
Ceremony held August 22nd. The gift included three (3)
clarinets, two (2) trumpets, a viola, two (2) trombones,
and a saxophone. The instruments have an estimated
value of USD $16,000 and will also be most valuable in
the development of CFA’s musical programme.
Arts and Culture Summer Programme
Following a 5-year hiatus, the Centre for the Arts
re-introduced its summer programme for participants
ranging in ages 7-12. They came from schools across
the island, including Glenmuir Prep in Clarendon, Mona
Prep and Hope Valley Experimental in St. Andrew,
Burnt Savannah Primary in St. Elizabeth, and from as
far away as Valley Primary in Anguilla. The camp aimed
to introduce participants to Jamaica’s cultural heritage,
and campers were enabled to explore both tangible
and intangible aspects of Caribbean culture. Activities
included visiting heritage sites, learning history through
drama and poetry, reviving traditional dance forms,
documenting personal and community histories through
basic animation and visual arts, as well as learning the
First year nursing student, Shevel Simms (centre) examines a saxophone
donated by UTech’s Chancellor, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, ON, PC (right)
to enrich the cultural programme at UTech. The donation was made at the
University’s annual Academic Induction Ceremony held on Friday, August 22,
2014 at the Alfred Sangster auditorium, UTech Papine campus. Participating
in the happy occasion is Ambassador the Hon. Burchell Whiteman, OJ,
Acting President.
Page 82
University of Technology, Jamaica
• ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
ADVANCEMENT DIVISION
CONT’D