University of London honours Beckles

The University of London has conferred the degree of Honorary Doctor of Social Sciences on Professor Sir Hilary Beckles.

The award was presented during the university’s Foundation Day ceremony on November 19, marking its 189th anniversary. The event took place at Senate House, the university’s administrative centre, under the patronage of Chancellor Princess Anne.

Introducing Beckles, orator Professor Kingsley Abbott praised his decades of distinguished scholarship as a historian, his leadership in higher education, and his visionary advocacy for social justice on the global stage.

Abbott noted that Beckles was a child of the Windrush migration from the West Indies to the United Kingdom.

He rose through the school system, mastered academic research, and earned a PhD in economic history from Hull University at age 24. By 35, he had become the youngest professor at The University of the West Indies, where he now serves as vice-chancellor. He also holds roles as Chancellor of the United Nations University and Distinguished Chancellor’s Visiting Professor at Cornell University.

In his response, Beckles described the honour as a tribute to The University of the West Indies, which began in 1948 as a college of the University of London.

“At a personal level, the honour is most gratifying because I was here at this distinguished university 39 years ago as a senior research fellow, where I had the opportunity to research, write and publish my first major academic monograph,” he said.