Distinguished Jamaican professor and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Rex Nettleford, died last evening at the George Washington Hospital in the United States. Nettleford, who collapsed in a hotel room six days ago in the U.S., would have been 77 years today.
As Vice-Chancellor, Nettleford had a wide international reputation and had been honored at home and abroad.
A Rhodes Scholar from Oxford University, Nettleford authored several publications, including, “Manley and the New Jamaica”, “ the African Connexion”, and “In Our Heritage”, and his latest published book was “Caribbean Cultural Identity, the case of Jamaica”.
Professor Nettleford was founder, artistic director and principal choreographer of the internationally acclaimed National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) of Jamaica. He was a brilliant dancer and outstanding organizer of the company. He has left his mark on the cultural life of the Caribbean.
He was the Cultural Adviser to the Prime Minister, member of the Inter-American Committee on Culture, founding governor of the Canada-based International Development Research Centre, and had acted as expert/consultant to the government of Ghana, FESTAC, CARIFESTA and UNESCO. Professor Nettleford was a radio and television commentator and has lectured in many countries including India, the Philippines and Israel.
He was the recipient of Jamaica’s Order of Merit, the gold Musgrave Medal, the Pelican Award from the U.W.I. guild of graduates, an honorary doctor of Humane letters from the University of Hartford and the Living Legend Award from the Atlantic Black Arts Festival.
