UWI’s Sir Hilary Beckles awarded honorary doctorate from South African university

North-West University (NWU) in South Africa has awarded an honorary doctorate to Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, the Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI). This accolade, conferred on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, was in recognition of his significant scholarly achievements and his worldwide efforts advocating for social justice.

The evening prior to the ceremony, Professor Beckles delivered a public lecture titled “From Durban to Accra: Rise of the Global Reparations Movement”.

UWI shared in a press release that the honorary degree, a Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) in History from NWU’s Faculty of Humanities, underscores his lifelong commitment to leveraging history as a means of healing and societal transformation. In accepting the award, Beckles described the honor as deeply meaningful on a personal level.

“This feels like a validation of my life’s work,” he remarked. “As a teenager in the UK, I was actively involved in anti-apartheid efforts and in campaigns such as Free Nelson Mandela. I’ve always been philosophically opposed to injustice. I consider myself a humanist, committed to the best qualities of humanity.”

Beckles reportedly recalled a formative moment when he shared his encounter with Steve Biko in Zambia during his student days. “I expressed concern for Biko’s safety, and he told me that if I ever had a son, I might name him after him. Biko lost his life, and I honored that legacy. My son’s name is Biko.”

Looking back on receiving the honorary doctorate, Beckles admitted that “to be here, decades later, nearing the end of my career, means everything. It fills me with joy and gratitude.”

Professor Bismark Tyobeka, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of NWU, expressed his pride in bestowing the honor. “We are privileged to have conferred an honorary doctorate upon Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, a distinguished scholar and public intellectual whose entire life exemplifies how academic inquiry can serve societal change. As Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, and chair of the United Nations University, among other roles, Beckles has exemplified the integration of academia with justice, advocating reparations as both a moral duty and an economic necessity.”