Vision outside the classroom
Lessons in life
Editor's note:
Gene Emanuel, iconic professor at the University of the Virgin Islands died in July 2011. We remember him as a dedicated guardian of Caribbean culture. We reprint our profile of him as a small tribute to a man who remains larger than life.
Lydia Harris
This Crucian-born English professor not only teaches students at the University of the Virgin Islands, he's an educational tour de force in the community. Emanuel believes that public education will lead to cultural recovery and that will lead the Virgin Islands into a Renaissance.
In the broader community, he promotes identifying cultural resources - including people - and bringing the culture to life. And he imparts information beginning with elementary school children.
Emanuel founded Young Men United to help boys make the transition from elementary to middle school. This mentoring program is dedicated to the creation, operation and evaluation of programs for the development of young men in the Virgin Islands community. With a focus on reading writing at all levels, Emanuel hopes to create an environment of personal, community and cultural success that offers solutions to some of society's problems.
Solutions are important, he says. One problem in our society is we don't offer viable solutions.
At UVI, where he has taught for over 25 years, Emanuel believes his greatest contribution is in student life and student development. I'm interested in the quality of students, not just academics, he stresses. The professor and the student: That is the university. That's the nexus of the university.
In all levels of society, Emanuel works to develop knowledge of Virgin Islands, Caribbean and African culture. It's an underused resource in the Caribbean, he says... Currently, he is building courses in the development of cultural resources with a special eye on folk life.
Emanuel days he wants to create an environment that fosters understanding of the global situation.
One way he does that is to take his humanities class out of the classroom. He discusses aspects of art, and takes the opportunity to talk about accomplished Virgin Islands artists. He begins with Camille Pissarro, one of the founders of impressionism, and moves to contemporary painters.
Emanuel's interest in education started before he served in Vietnam. On his return, he completed his master's degree and taught classes at Lincoln University, Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia before returning to the Virgin Islands.
While in the nation's capital, Emanuel was active in the Black Power movement. He also got involved in higher education in prisons, where he helped develop an academic program, which expanded form a dozen participants to well over 500. He says he learned that wonderful black minds were in prison, and wanted to create a way for them to become contributing members of society.
Whether working with elementary school children, adults or prisoners, Emanuel concentrates first and foremost on reading and writing. With strong reading and writing skills, Emanuel believes everyone has a chance at success.
Gene Emanuel virginvoices.com photo by D.B. Bostdorf
Lydia Harris is a journalist and educator.
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