Aggrey Brown: an inspiration that cannot be forgot

For most people, the depth of one's value in life is often not known until his or her death. Not so with Professor Aggrey Brown, who passed away recently.

His 22 years as director of the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) put Brown in the unenviable position of influencing the minds of thousands who ply their trade in various areas of the media and communication industry - from the Caribbean to the United Nations.

By extension then, he had a significant impact on the evolution of Caribbean media, history, politics, and culture. But Prof Brown's influence went beyond mere position either as director of the institute, or dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.

His dedication and commitment to the genuine development of the region, his deep connection to individuals who had come to see him as mentor and friend, his abiding faith in the creative power of the intellect and imagination, and his unrelenting sense of critical reflection and praxis made him distinguished among men.

Helping students excel

Brown was a scholar and a gentleman who inspired his students, friends, and colleagues to settle for nothing less than one is worthy of and able to achieve. After all, personal development is about reaching one's full potential in all dimensions, which is best realised through critical engagement of mind, body, and soul, hard work, confidence in the human capacity for greatness, and an abiding sense of purpose and self.

Little wonder then that even after retirement, he was willing to contribute to the CARIMAC experience at the UWI Mona-Western Jamaica Campus. The project had come to mean a lot to Brown, not just because he was a Cornwall College old boy and was happy to see the university spread its wings to the west, but also because the first cohort was very special and dear to his heart.

Both CARIMAC and the university were at a critical juncture in their evolution as the English-speaking Caribbean's leading institutions of media and communication training and higher education when Brown came out to teach. Those students really made him so proud of his decision that even after he had stopped teaching, he still made time to appear as a guest with them and the cohorts following. Such was the measure of the man - a genuine inspiration to so many.

We will surely miss him, for his heart and mind was always with us, as will ours be with him for a very long time to come. On behalf of the extended family at CARIMAC - Western Jamaica Campus, we offer condolences to his wife, Suzanne, and the children. Long shall his inspiration and invaluable contribution live!

Patrick Prendergast is lecturer and coordinator CARIMAC, UWI, Mona-Western Jamaica Campus.