Bassett, Brock Inducted Into Company Of Fellows
In recent ceremonies at the Coco Reef Hotel, Dr. Melvyn Bassett and Ms. Arlene Brock and were inducted into the Company of Honorary Fellows.
The College said, “Dr. Melvyn Bassett is an educator’s educator, having spent his entire professional career in the public education system. He earned an undergraduate degree in Science from Wilberforce University in Ohio, and worked for a short time in Boston before returning to Bermuda and to his alma mater, Sandys Secondary School under principal Mr. Mansfield Brock, his mentor.
“After two years teaching at Sandys Secondary, he realised he had found his calling and enrolled at Howard University earning a Master’s degree in Education in 1973. He returned to Sandys Secondary, this time under the leadership of Dr. Joseph Christopher, who invited him to serve as his deputy.
“Dr. Bassett served as Deputy Principal of Sandys Secondary for eight years, and when Dr. Christopher moved to the Department of Education, he became principal. Dr. Bassett served in that role for twenty-four years, even overseeing the successful transition of the secondary school to a middle school in 1998.
“Dr. Bassett is the epitome of active leadership. A strong advocate of the Dunn Learning Style which assists teachers in teaching students of varying abilities in every school environment, he promoted this concept throughout the Island’s public and private schools. He undertook doctoral studies in 1998 and subsequently graduated with his postgraduate degree in Education from St. John’s University.
“Dr. Bassett has served on a number of boards, including the International Learning Styles Board, facilitating a number of workshops on the same both locally and abroad. He served as Chairman of the Bermuda National Education Council and President of the Association of School Principals.
“He has both published, and provided editorial assistance in the development of a number of publications, and has served on a number of education commissions, including the Tumin Commission, the Education Planning Team; and in leadership roles of several parochial boards including the Police Advisory Board, the West Development Board, the Willowbank Foundation, and the Child Evangelism Fellowship Bermuda.
“More recently he serves as Managing Director of the Sandys 360 Sports, Aquatic and Enrichment Centre. In 2010, Dr. Bassett was awarded the Queens Certificate and Badge of Honour.
“Ms. Arlene Brock discovered her penchant for advocacy as a teenager when she was one of six students who developed and conducted their own after-school Black Studies classes at the Berkeley Institute, and held an historic sit-in at the school’s annual Sports Day. The next year at the Sixth Form Centre [the precursor to Bermuda College], Ms. Brock and three other students challenged Prince Charles over their right to learn their own history in their own country.
“Ms. Brock went on to obtain her undergraduate degree at McGill University, serving on the executive bodies of the International, Caribbean and Black Student associations; she also authored an orientation guide for international students at McGill and represented the university on a month-long tour of Egypt.
“She returned to Bermuda and worked for some time as an accountant before obtaining her first law degree at York University, furthering her interest in human right and mediation. She then pursued a Masters of Law degree at Harvard Law School, and became an active participant for Conflict Management, Inc., the corporate arm of the Harvard Negotiation Programme that taught negotiation and mediation skills around the world.
“She has chaired the voluntary Police Complaints Authority, the Permanent [Labour] Arbitration Tribunal, and has sat as an Acting Magistrate in Family Court. She currently sits on the Judicial and Legal Services Committee.
“Ms. Brock is more recently famous for being appointed the Island’s first National Ombudsman, a post she held for 81/2 years. During that span she also served for 3 1/2 years on the Board of the International Ombudsman Institute, and regional President for the Caribbean and Latin America.
“She also chaired the Board’s International Training Committee and was recognised for her service with an Honorary Life Member in 2013. She recently completed a semester at Northeastern School of Law as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar – the first Fulbright Scholar on record from any of the UK Overseas Territories.
“Ms. Brock joins her father, brother and aunt as an Honorary Fellow in the Company of Honorary Fellows at Bermuda College.”
Well done Dr.Bassett !
Congratulations to both. What is the status of Sandys 360 Sports, Aquatic and Enrichment Centre? Is it open or closed?