Phyllis MacPherson-Russell

Phyllis Claire Macpherson-Russell OD, OJ (born November 18, 1923 in Kingston , † April 19, 2008 ) was a Jamaican politician of the People's National Party (PNP).

biography

Phyllis Macpherson-Russel, sister of the later Speaker of the House of Representatives Ripton MacPherson , studied mathematics at the University of London between 1945 and 1948 after attending school . Already during her studies she was committed to the concerns of the Caribbean and was a representative at conferences of the World Federation of Democratic Youth in London . After an Issa scholarship , she received a Grace Hoadley Dodge scholarship, which enabled her to pursue postgraduate studies at Columbia University . She completed this course in 1961 with a doctorate in education . Upon her return to Jamaica, she became a lecturer in the faculty of after-school education, now the School of Continuing Studies, at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

In August 1978 she was appointed Minister of Education in his government by Prime Minister Michael Manley , making her the second Jamaican woman to hold ministerial office after Rose Agatha Leon . She headed the Department of Education until the PNP's defeat by the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) in the general election and the end of Manley's tenure on November 1, 1980.

She then resumed teaching and devoted herself in particular to expanding mathematics education in Jamaica.

She has received numerous awards for her services and, following the Order of Distinction (1991), received the Pelikan Prize of the Graduate Association in 1993 for her fundamental work in the field of human resource development. On April 12, 1999, she was awarded an honorary doctorate (Sc.D.) by Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) . Most recently she was awarded the Order of Jamaica in 2003 .

Web links

• Female Jamaica Ministers
• THE VOICE: UWI open tribute to Dr. the Hon. Phyllis Macpherson-Russell, OJ (May 3, 2008)
• The Life and achievements of Phyllis MacPherson Russell , Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute Newsletter, Issue 7, June 1, 2008 (PDF file; 162 kB)