UCC to Install Global Thought Leaders as Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor – Champions of Innovation, Policy Reform, and Ethical Leadership

 

 Professor John MacIntyre (left) and  Professor Anthony Clayton, CD (right)

Kingston, Jamaica – June 27, 2025 – Reinforcing its global vision and intellectual leadership, the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC) will install two internationally renowned visionaries: Pro-Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Professor John MacIntyre of the University of Sunderland in the UK as Chancellor, and Professor Emeritus Anthony Clayton, CD, of the University of the West Indies as Pro-Chancellor at its 2025 Commencement Ceremony, set for Sunday, July 20 at 10:30 a.m. at the National Arena in Kingston. Both appointments signal UCC’s commitment to shaping the future of higher education, economic transformation, and ethical innovation through strategic academic stewardship.

With over 30 years at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) and academic leadership, Professor MacIntyre has carved a distinguished path in ethical AI, research governance, and technological

innovation. Formerly Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, UK, he is a globally respected scholar with over 200 publications and editorial roles in Neural Computing and Applications and AI and Ethics. His work in predictive technologies and digital education makes him an ideal fit to assist in steering UCC through an era defined by rapid technological change.

Joining him in this leadership ascent is Professor Clayton, one of the Caribbean’s most prolific and respected policy strategists and scholars. A long-time advocate for sustainable development, energy innovation, and national security, Professor Clayton has over forty years of international experience in policy development, with projects in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia and policy studies on a wide range of issues for a number of governments and intergovernmental agencies, including the United Nations Environment Program, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the UK’s Department for International Development, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Organization of American States, and the Governments of the UK, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands, the Republic of South Africa and Jamaica, US Southern Command, US Northern Command, the US Naval War College and the US Army War College. He is the author of Jamaica’s National Security Policy and served as the Chairman of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica and the Chairman of the Energy Committee of the Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences, demonstrating his enduring influence in national and regional policymaking.

“The appointments of Professors MacIntyre and Clayton are not merely ceremonial; they represent a transformative moment in UCC’s evolution,” stated Professor Colin Gyles, CD, President of UCC. “Both men are distinguished scholars and architects of real-world change, bringing to UCC unparalleled depth in academic excellence, global foresight, and ethical governance. This kind of influence is essential to sustaining our momentum and preparing our graduates to lead with impact.”

Dr. Winston I. Adams, OD, JP, Founder and Group Executive Chairman of the UCC/SPECTRUM Groups, added, “These leaders embody the rare blend of intellectual leadership and strategic vision that is required to navigate the complexities of our global future. At UCC, we are committed to building an institution that doesn’t just confer degrees but produces global citizens and transformative leaders.”