Board of Governors
as of 1 July 2011
CHAIR
The Honourable Burchell Whiteman, O.J.E
Former Jamaican High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Retired Senator and former Minister of Information
and former Minister of Education and Culture, Jamaica.
MEMBERS
Commonwealth Secretary-General:
His Excellency, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma
Appointments by Major Donors:
GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
(Canadian International Development Agency)
Ms. Janet L. Ecker, ICD.DE
President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance
Public Policy Advisor, The Tramore Group
Former Minister of Finance and former Minister of Education, Ontario
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Ms. Vibha Puri DasE
Secretary, Higher Education
Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development
GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND
(New Zealand Aid Programme)
Dr. Linda Sissons, CNZME
Chief Executive Officer
Wellington Institute of Technology
GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA
Her Excellency Mrs. Mariam Yalwaji KatagumA
Ambassador/Permanent Delegate,
The Permanent Delegation of Nigeria to UNESCO (Paris)
GOVERNMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA
Ms. Jenny GlennieA
Director
South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE)
DEPUTY CHAIR of the COL Board of Governors
GOVERNMENT OF UNITED KINGDOM
Ms. Jo BourneA
Head of Profession, Education
Department for International Development
Regional Appointments on the Advice of Commonwealth Ministers of Education:
AFRICA
Professor Akilagpa SawyerrE
former Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities
and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana
ASIA
Professor Dr. Atta-ur-rahman, FRSE
Coordinator General
OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), Pakistan, and
former Chairperson of the Pakistan Higher Education Commission, and
former Minister of Science and Technology,
Pakistan
CARIBBEAN
Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Clement SankatA
Principal, St. Augustine Campus
The University of the West Indies,
Trinidad & Tobago
CHAIR, Audit Commitee
PACIFIC
The Honourable Dr. Dame Carol Kidu
Member of Parliament and former Minister of Community Development, Women, Religion and Sports
Papua New Guinea
Appointment by the Commonwealth Secretary-General:
Mr. Martin Bean
Vice-Chancellor
The Open University (UK)
President (Ex-Officio):
Sir John Daniel
President and C.E.O., Commonwealth of Learning
Advisor:
Professor John Wood
Secretary General
Association of Commonwealth Universities
E Denotes member of Executive Committee
A Denotes member of Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is comprised of a minimum of three Governors and the Committee may co-opt other members to bring specific expertise as an External Member. Ms. Rebecca Lem served in this capacity from 2008 to 2011.