University of Belize
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| Motto | Education Empowers A Nation |
|---|---|
| Type | National University |
| Established | August 1, 2000 |
| Chairman | Mrs. Imani Fairweather-Morrison, MS |
| President | Dr. Cary Fraser |
| Provost | Dr. Wilma Wright |
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Academic staff
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400 |
| Undergraduates | about 4,000 |
| Location | Belmopan, Belize |
| Campus |
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| Colors | Purple and gold |
| Athletics | UB Black Jaguars (Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of Belize(ATLIB)) |
| Nickname | UB |
| Mascot | The Black Jaguar |
| Website | www.ub.edu.bz |
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The University of Belize (UB) is an English-speaking multi-locational institute for higher education, and the national university of the Belize. The institution offers certificates, diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor begrees, and a graduate degree. The UB Central Campus is found in Belmopan City, the campus is the site of a clean solar energy project which will help make the university self sustainable and off the grid.
The university's colors are purple and gold; its mascot is the "Black Jaguar" and its motto is "Education Empowers a Nation".
The evolution of the Belizean university can be traced over a 23-year period beginning in 1977 with the establishment of the Committee for Sixth Form Studies in response to emerging concerns regarding the relevance of existing tertiary education, and ending in the year 2000 with a second attempt to coordinate and rationalize Belizean higher or tertiary education. During this time, the evolution of the university resulted in the establishment of three institutions: the Belize College of Arts, Sciences and Technology, the University College of Belize, and the University of Belize.
Belizean nationalists long wished to decolonize the educational system and rely less on foreign academic institutions. In 1979 the ruling People's United Party (PUP) established the Belize College of Arts, Science, and Technology (BELCAST) as a state institution free of church involvement. The government secured funds from the European Economic community for construction of a campus in Belmopan, but the campus was never built. On February 24, 1986, it was announced at a meeting of the National Council on Education that BELCAST would be closed. The rival United Democratic Party assumed power in December 1984 and later established an alternative college—the University College of Belize—on July 1986, created and maintained by Ferris State College of Big Rapids, Michigan. Nationalists were dismayed that the new University College of Belize would be administered by non-Belizeans. Intense political controversy arose in 1991 when it was discovered that the university had not been properly accredited, calling into question the value of its degrees. A new PUP government severed its agreement with Ferris State College, and the state of Belize assumed full control over the university.
The University of Belize was established in August 2000 as an amalgamation of five tertiary-level institutions:
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