“Building linkages and collaboration,” these words will be remembered by the faculty and staff at the Anguilla Community College as Professor Delroy Louden, First President of the ACC, bids farewell to the institution.
After serving six and a half years at the helm, in helping to nurture and develop the College into a recognized institution, Professor Louden leaves behind a special gift for the continued growth of the College and the people of Anguilla.
He has created The Delroy M. Louden Faculty Endowment Fund of US$50,000, through the Anguilla Community Foundation, that will be awarded to full time faculty, to attract, nurture, and reward faculty members who exhibit excellence in research and scholarship, including community-based participatory research as well as professional development.
On Thursday 8th December, Professor Louden participated in his last board meeting as a Statutory Member. A special ceremony was held in recognition of his generous gift to the island.
Mr Rodney Rey, Board Chair at the ACC, thanked Professor Louden for serving the College and the people of Anguilla in a self-sacrificing, committed and patriotic way: “This generous act by Professor Louden will impact in the long term, the lives of the recipients – Professors of the College, and young Anguillians who will be assisted in their tertiary level education.
“Professor Louden is a man who puts his money where his mouth is. Throughout his tenure at the ACC he has worked to secure strategic alliances with other Colleges and stakeholders in order to secure access to funding and scholarships for young Anguillians to realize their dream of becoming College graduates.”
Permanent Secretary of Education, Mrs Chanelle Petty-Barrett, on behalf of the Ministry of Education thanked Professor Louden for his generous contribution.
“From the date of your appointment, I think we can all agree that Professor has worked for the betterment of the Anguilla Community College and Anguilla as a whole. You are indeed an adopted son of the soil and it is obvious that you have the ACC and Anguilla at heart,” she commented.
Deputy Governor Mr Perin Bradley thanked Professor Louden for advancing the cause of the ACC to where it is today, and for doing something that will outlive him and his lasting legacy.
Dr. Bonnie Richardson-Lake, Chair of the Anguilla Community Foundation, said they are pleased with the creation of the Delroy M. Louden Endowed Fund. “It signals the continued collaboration with the ACC with whom we have a MOU. Donors are really the backbone of the Foundation and without the donors there’ll be no funds, there’ll be no Foundation, there’ll be no grants. As such donor developments and fundraising are major parts of the fundraising work.”
But Minister of Health, Evans McNiel Rogers, has a different plan for the Professor. He called on him to work with the Ministry of Health: “I have a lot of work for you to do in terms of research and cancer in Anguilla because, there is no doubt, there has been an increased in cancer – various types of cancers in Anguilla at the moment…. so help us to focus on the research and funding with respect to the cancer situation in Anguilla.”
Professor Louden has served on several boards including Co-Principal Investigator on several funded research projects – with major research institutions such as the Colorectal Cancer Center with the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, the North East Cancer Center and Cancer Health Disparities through research and training at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
