Major General (Ret’d) Joe Singh elected pro-chancellor of UG

Former Chief of Staff Major General (Retired), Joseph Singh

Georgetown: Major General (Ret’d) Joe Singh was elected pro-chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG) by the university’s council on Thursday.

Singh replaced Bibi Shadick who had served in the position for a number of years.

UG Chancellor, Professor Nigel Harris made the announcement during a press briefing on Thursday.

A pro-chancellor is an officer of some universities in Commonwealth countries. The pro-chancellor also acts as a deputy to the chancellor and is practically the chairman of the university council.

Singh said he is ready to work in the best interest of the team of managers and the university during his tenure.

“I intend to do my utmost in the interest of the university by being a team player… it was indeed an honour to have been elected as pro-chancellor,” said Singh.

Singh in 1956 won a Government County Scholarship to Queen’s College where he completed his secondary education and after a short stint in the civil service, was among the first batch of Guyanese selected by the British Army in 1965 to attend an officer cadet training in the UK, in preparation for the establishment of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) of independent Guyana.

He is a graduate of Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot (1966); the School of Infantry, Warminster (1970); the Army School of Education, Beaconsfield (1970); the Army Free Fall Parachute School, Netheravon (1970); the Army Staff College, Camberley (1977); and the Royal College of Defence Studies, Belgrave Square, UK (1995).

His service as a commissioned officer spanned 34 years commencing as a Second Lieutenant on June 4, 1966; Lieutenant 1968; Captain 1970; Major 1972; Lieutenant Colonel 1975; Colonel 1979; Brigadier 1986; and Major General 1999.

He is also a graduate of the University of Guyana (Public Administration), the UK Royal College of Defence Studies (Post Graduate – International Relations and Strategic Studies), and of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Greenwich University, UK (MSc in Tourism and Protected Landscape Management).