NYU names UWI vice-chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles distinguished scholar
Sir Hilary returned to New York University 32 years after a visiting fellowship, delivering a lecture on enslaved Black women and the economics of slavery.
NEW YORK, United States. The University of the West Indies (UWI) says New York University (NYU) has welcomed its vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, as Distinguished Scholar for 2026 to 2027.
He was hosted on October 13 by NYU's Centre for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora, led by Professor Michael Gomez.
"This is a valued expression of fellowship, especially as the Centre is renowned for its outstanding scholarship and research," Sir Hilary said.
He recalled that in 1994 he was a visiting scholar at NYU's Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, where he was succeeded by Professor Kamau Brathwaite. Being back after 32 years among leading scholars of African history was "special", he said.
Lecture on slavery's business model
As Distinguished Scholar, Sir Hilary delivered a public lecture at NYU's Silver Centre entitled "The Economics of Wealth Creation: Why Enslaved Black Women Were the Financial Core of the Slavery Business Model".
NYU said the lecture examined how chattel slavery, a system designed specifically for Africans legally classified as property, placed African women at its centre, making the model inter-generational through their fertility and maternity.
A long list of roles
NYU described Sir Hilary as "a distinguished academic, international thought leader, United Nations committee official, and global public activist in the field of social justice and minority empowerment".
Educated at the University of Hull, he chairs the Caribbean Examinations Council and the CARICOM Commission on Reparation and Social Justice, is a director of Sagicor Financial Corporation, is Chancellor of the United Nations University and sits on the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. He is also an editor of the UNESCO General History of Africa series.
UWI said the honour follows other international recognition, including his selection as Honorary International Historian of the Year by the Association of American Historians in 2022 and his role as Chancellor's Distinguished Professor-at-Large at Cornell University.
It said such recognition continues to "raise the global profile of The University of the West Indies".
