Dive Into the University of the Virgin Islands

Atlanta Journal Constitution

ST. THOMAS, V.I. — The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) was chartered on March 16, 1962, as the College of the Virgin Islands — a publicly funded, coeducational, liberal arts institution — by Act No. 862 of the Fourth Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

According to that law, UVI’s cornerstone objective is to provide for “…the stimulation and utilization of the intellectual resources of the people of the Virgin Islands and the development of a center of higher learning whereby and wherefrom the benefits of culture and education may be extended throughout the Virgin Islands.”

The enabling legislation was the result of at least two years of preparation and planning. In 1960, the V.I. Legislature created a temporary body called the Virgin Islands College Commission, comprised of interested island residents, to survey the need for a territorial college. In April 1961, Governor Ralph M. Paiewonsky pledged to establish such a college in his inaugural address. And in July 1961, Governor Paiewonsky hosted a Governor’s Conference on Higher Education, at which twenty educators observed and analyzed the Virgin Islands’ educational scene, and made recommendations for the creation of the College of the Virgin Islands (CVI). read more