Jamaica's Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Professor Stephen Vasciannie will deliver the main address at the launch of the Ambassadorial Corps on Wednesday, March 13, at the University of the West Indies, Mona-Western Jamaica Campus (WJC).

Ambassador Vasciannie will officially launch the historic WJC ambassadorial programme at the five-star Iberostar Grand Resort in Montego Bay, at which 12 outstanding members of the business community will be named emissaries of the campus.

The Ambassadorial Corps is one aspect of a wider communication analysis and planning (CAP) project named 'UWI WJC Forging New Paths in Education'. The project is being executed by a group of final-year students at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication and aims to further integrate the five-year old WJC into the community.

"Our ambassadors will advocate on behalf of the WJC with the business community, their peers and staff; delivering lectures in their field of expertise at least once per year, while being emissaries of the campus locally and internationally," explained Dr Luz Longsworth, campus director.

Longsworth expressed the hope that, through their advocacy, there will be increased public awareness of the offerings at the institution, resulting in growth in the student population. The campus currently has 800 students enrolled, but is projecting an increase to 2,000 students within the next two years. According to Longsworth, each ambassador was carefully selected and all have a proven track record of commendable contribution to nation building. They will act as advocates for the WJC for a period of two years.

The 12, drawn from the parishes of St James, Hanover, Westmoreland and St Elizabeth, include Caribbean Producers Jamaica Limited's Mark Hart, Rainforest Seafood's Ernest Grant, National Health Fund's Everton Anderson, Sandals Resorts International's Adam Stewart, Custos of Westmoreland Father Richard Perrin, ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Barbara Salmon-Grandison, and Round Hill Hotel and Villas' Omar Robinson.

Completing the impressive list are Ward's Power Tools' Howard Ward, Hampton High School principal Heather Murray, Island Outsourcers' Yoni Epstein, Exclusive Holidays' Fred Smith, and governor-elect of the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean Kiwanis International, Hope Markes.