The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus is mourning the passing of Emeritus Professor Baldwin Mootoo, a pioneering academic whose decades-long career helped shape the institution’s development across the Caribbean.

In a statement on Monday, the university described Professor Mootoo’s life and legacy as deeply intertwined with the growth and evolution of The UWI, noting that his academic journey began during the institution’s early years, before it attained full independent tertiary status separate from the University of London.

Professor Mootoo first entered the University College of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, as a student in 1956. He later achieved the distinction of becoming one of the earliest doctoral graduates associated with the newly independent University of the West Indies.