The University of the West Indies, Mona announced on Monday the promotion of Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government, Faculty of Social Sciences, Dr. Jessica Byron-Reid to the rank of Professor.
Jessica Byron completed a BA in French and Spanish at The UWI, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, followed by a postgraduate Diploma in International Relations from The UWI, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad & Tobago. She went on to complete her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Political Science (International Relations) at the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Byron-Reid is a highly respected academic who has made a profound contribution to her field in the area of regionalism as well as on foreign policy and diplomacy of small developing states in the Caribbean. Her work is recognized across the English, French, Spanish and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, and further afield.
Dr. Byron-Reid’s scholarly profile is characterized by consistent, high calibre research and scholarly productivity; active service to her discipline and related scholarly and professional communities, and performance and promise relative to service to The University of the West Indies, to the Caribbean and to the international community.
Her scholarship covers several disciplinary categories: International Relations, Security Studies and Caribbean Area studies. She has a distinguished record of publication and research, with 53 current or forthcoming publications published in three different languages, which include 16 refereed journal articles, 13 book chapters, three book reviews and seven technical reports, among other publications. In recognition of her outstanding record, she was recipient of the Principal’s Award for best research publication in 2008 and is recipient of the Principal’s Award for Most Outstanding Researcher in the UWI Mona Faculty of Social Sciences for 2015.
As an academic, Dr Byron has redeveloped and taught several core courses and electives in the International Relations undergraduate degree programme as well as three courses in the Master’s degree programme in International Relations. She led the development of the Department’s offerings on Latin American comparative politics.
In addition, Dr Byron was very instrumental in the development and coordination of the jointly taught BSc/MSc programme in Politics and International Cooperation, delivered in partnership with the Universities of Bordeaux 1V and Antilles-Guyane (Martinique). Launched in 2007, this programme has recruited nine cohorts of approximately sixty students and has fostered scholarly exchanges among the staff of the three institutions. As a result, Dr Byron was awarded the Chevalier de L’Ordre Nationale du Merite by the Government of France for her role in the development and coordination of this programme.
In her contribution to University life Dr. Byron has played a leading administrative role in curriculum development, programme reviews, departmental and graduate research seminars as well as scholarly collaboration with international and regional partners. She has mentored and supervised more than 50 local, regional and international students and managed the administrative portfolio of the department in the capacities of Unit Coordinator for International Relations, Graduate Coordinator for the department as well as head of the Department of Government from 2010 – 2013 and UWI Coordinator for the MSc Programme in Politics and International Cooperation. She is currently seconded to SALISES Mona as a Senior Research Fellow and serves as Coordinator for the SALISES M.Phil/PhD programme.
Dr Byron has enhanced the reputation of the UWI by serving on several national, regional and international boards/committees and has produced several technical reports that have been critical to the advancement of Caribbean regionalism as well as Caribbean and Latin American/Caribbean and European relations. More specifically, Dr. Byron has served on consultancy teams that produced technical reports for the Caribbean Regional Negotiating machinery, the OECS Secretariat, ECLAC/CDCC, the UNDP, the International Centre for Trade and sustainable Development, the Commonwealth Secretariat and One World Action.
She has been invited to present at international projects and programmes such as the UN Special Committee on Decolonization, the SIDS Unit of the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs and the ACP/CARIFORUM. Dr Byron has also served on the PSOJ Trade Committee and on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade JTAT Committee.
Dr. Byron-Reid is a proud product of Morning Star, Nevis and a former State Scholar of the federation . All of her degrees were gained through FULL scholarships which she all earned due to her tremendous academic prowess and intellect.
She is the daughter of the Late Cecil Byron , former Magistrate and the first Black Nevisian to hold the post of Attorney-General of the state of St.Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla. Dr. Byron-Reid is also the cousin of the President of the Caribbean Court of Justice Sir Dennis Byron and the current Attorney-General of St.Kitts-Nevis Vincent Byron Jr.