Marjorie Ruth Thorpe is a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

academic, lecturer, former diplomat and the first woman to have chaired the Public Service Commission (PSC) in Trinidad and Tobago."Quiet service"
''

Trinidad and Tobago Newsday ''Trinidad and Tobago Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in Trinidad and Tobago. ''Newsday'' is the newest of the three daily papers after the ''Trinidad and Tobago Guardian'' and the '' Trinidad and Tobago Express'' respectively. The newspaper was f ...

'', 25 July 2013.Ucill Cambridge
"‘Pres picked a woman to head PSC’"
''

Trinidad and Tobago Guardian The ''Trinidad and Tobago Guardian'' (together with the ''Sunday Guardian'') is the oldest daily newspaper in Trinidad and Tobago. The paper is considered the newspaper of record for Trinidad and Tobago. The slogan of the paper is ''The Guardia ...

'', 4 August 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2022. She is also a development practitioner with a particular interest in gender issues.

Biography

Early years and education

Marjorie Thorpe was born and grew up in

Tunapuna Tunapuna is a town in the East–West Corridor of the island of Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago. Town Tunapuna is located between St. Augustine, Tacarigua and Trincity. Tunapuna is the largest town between San Juan and Arima. It is an import ...

, Trinidad, and attended Bishop Anstey High School in

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

."Citation: Dr. Marjorie Thorpe"
''UWI Today'', October 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2022. She went on to study at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, where she attained a BA in English in 1963 and an MA in English Literature in 1965. Subsequently joining the English Department at the

University of the West Indies, St. Augustine The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine is a public research university in St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of 5 general campuses in the University of the West Indies system, which are ranked 1st in the Caribbean. It is r ...

, she was awarded a

Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA; in French: ''Agence canadienne de développement international''; ''ACDI'') was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was me ...

Fellowship to Queen's University in Canada, where she completed a PhD in Literature in 1975.

Career

Marjorie Thorpe was on the faculty of the University of the West Indies (UWI) for more than 20 years. She served two terms at head of the English Department at UWI's St Augustine campus between 1979 and 1985, and was Vice-Dean and then as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and General Studies between 1985 and 1988. She pioneered the introduction of the first Women and

Development Studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the ...

Course at UWI and later served as Coordinator of the Women and Development Studies Programme."Marjorie Thorpe"
Mona Academic Conference, University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica. From 1988 to 1992, she was Trinidad and Tobago's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, and from 1992 to 1995 was deputy director of the

United Nations Development Fund for Women The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, , ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year. Its first director was Margaret C. Snyder. U ...

(UNIFEM). She was also Resident Coordinator of the UN System Operational Activities for

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

and the

Eastern Caribbean The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ...

, and Resident Representative of

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

for the same area. She has also served on the boards of national and international organizations, including the Police Service Commission of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as

Republic Bank Republic Bank Limited is a Caribbean financial institution headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago. It has operations in Anguilla, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St. ...

, where she was the first woman appointed in 17 years."Dr Marjorie Thorpe breaks glass ceiling at Republic Bank"
''Newsday'', 10 April 2003. In 2013, she became the first woman to chair Trinidad and Tobago's Public Service Commission. A participant at many conferences, Thorpe has delivered papers and keynote addresses on subject areas including gender, development and Caribbean literature, and among other writings contributed an Introduction to the

Heinemann Educational Books William Heinemann Ltd., with the imprint Heinemann, was a London-based publisher founded in 1890 by William Heinemann. Their first published book, 1890's ''The Bondman'', was a huge success in the United Kingdom and launched the company. He was j ...

edition of

Earl Lovelace Earl Wilbert Lovelace (born 13 July 1935) is a Trinidad and Tobago novelist, journalist, playwright, and short story writer. He is particularly recognized for his descriptive, dramatic fiction on Trinidadian culture: "Using Trinidadian dialect ...

's novel '' The Wine of Astonishment''. She has in addition played significant roles in creative writing initiatives in the region, including as coordinator for the

Commonwealth Writers Prize Commonwealth Foundation has presented a number of prizes since 1987. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best First ...

, vice-chair of the judges panel of the

OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, inaugurated in 2011 by the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, is an annual literary award for books by Caribbean writers published in the previous year.NGC Bocas Lit Fest The NGC Bocas Lit Fest is the Trinidad and Tobago literary festival that takes place annually during the last weekend of April in Port of Spain. Inaugurated in 2011, it is the first major literary festival in the southern Caribbean and largest lit ...

Awards

Marjorie Thorpe is the recipient of fellowships and honours that include the degree of

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

, ''honoris causa'', from the University of the West Indies in 2015, "for her dedication and service to UWI, the country and the region".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Marjorie Living people McGill University alumni People from Tunapuna–Piarco Queen's University at Kingston alumni Trinidad and Tobago academics Trinidad and Tobago women diplomats Academic staff of the University of the West Indies Year of birth missing (living people)