(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) As the people of Trinidad and Tobago, academia, and the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) mourn the passing of University of the West Indies Professor Dennis Pantin, His Excellency Edwin Carrington, CARICOM Secretary-General has lauded his contribution to the Region as “deep and abiding.”

In a message of condolence to the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mr. Carrington acknowledged Prof. Pantin’s service to the premier regional tertiary institution, describing it as “multidisciplinary”; spanning the social, economic and political spheres.

Prof. Dennis Pantin, a national of Trinidad and Tobago, died on Tuesday 15 July, 2010 at the age of 61. At the time of his death, he was a member of a group of CARICOM experts who were mandated by CARICOM Heads of Government to develop a Strategic Plan for Regional Development to give effect to a report prepared by a team led by Professor Norman Girvan entitled A Single Development Vision and the Role of the Single Economy, all geared towards the creation of a Single Economy by 2015.

The Secretary-General noted that for over three decades, Prof. Pantin served the UWI lecturing in economics, conducting research and analysis, and serving as Chair of the Economics Department and of the Sustainable Economic Development Unit. This work, Mr. Carrington said, “only begins” to chronicle Prof. Pantin’s contribution to the Region.

“Professor Pantin’s deep and abiding interest in the Caribbean condition led to his contributing a trove of articles on a variety of regional topics. Committed to demystifying his area of work, his language allowed for easy understanding of relatively complex issues,” Mr. Carrington said.

The Secretary-General said, “That Dennis Pantin has been taken away at this crucial stage of Caribbean development and the integration process, to which he had so much more to offer, makes his passing even more sorrowful.”

The full text of the message reads:

It is with deep sadness that I have learnt of the passing of Professor Dennis Pantin. His valuable multidisciplinary contribution to intellectual discourse in the Caribbean spread/extended across the social, economic and political spheres.

His work over three decades at the University of the West Indies during which he lectured in economics, conducted research and analysis, served as Chair of the Economics Department and of the Sustainable Economic Development Unit only begins to chronicle the achievements of Professor Pantin.

Professor Pantin’s deep and abiding interest in the Caribbean condition led to his contributing a trove of articles on a variety of regional topics. Committed to demystifying his area of work, his language allowed for easy understanding of relatively complex issues. He also dabbled in politics, not only as a candidate having contested an election, and commentator, but also as a concerned citizen who, in one of his latest endeavours in his native Trinidad and Tobago, became the founder and chairperson of a Constitution Reform Commission. His public service also included six years as Chairman of Trinidad and Tobago's Regulated Industries Commission in its formative stage.

His study on the relation between employment in Trinidad and Tobago’s manufacturing sector and that country’s exports to the Caribbean Community provided valuable insight into the interconnectedness of the regional integration process and was an example of the type of work which ensured that he left an indelible footprint in the intellectual sands of Caribbean economics. I admired tremendously the Professor’s work and particularly his determination to ensure that it was not kept in the proverbial ivory tower.

His legacy will endure in the numerous publications that he either edited or authored and in the intellectual rigour that he brought to bear in his work which his students over the years would have emulated from their Professor. His belief in life-long learning also led to his championing of the Extra-mural courses at the University which have benefitted many Caribbean citizens.

That Dennis Pantin has been taken away at this crucial stage of Caribbean development and the integration process, to which he had so much more to offer, makes his passing even more sorrowful. Indeed, he was a member of the group of CARICOM experts currently working on the Strategic Plan for Regional Development that was mandated by the Heads of Government arising out of the report prepared by a team led by Professor Norman Girvan entitled A Single Development Vision and the Role of the Single Economy all geared towards the creation by 2015 of the Single Economy.

On behalf of the Caribbean Community and on my own behalf, I extend heartfelt condolences to his wife Yolande and their three children as well as other members of his family. The Caribbean Community grieves along with them and the people of Trinidad and Tobago at the loss of a true Caribbean citizen.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org