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| Friday, 16 May 2003 |
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Sir Ivor First Vice Chancellor of University of Ceylon by Derrick Schokman The one-hundredth birth anniversary of Sir Ivor Jennings QC, Litt D (Cantab) LLD (Lond) falls today (16). As constitutional lawyer, political scientist and educationist he played an important part during the crucial years when this country was preparing to take its place amongst the independent nations of the world. Perhaps his most enduring monument is the university of Ceylon that was created in Colombo in 1942 and subsequently transferred to Peradeniya in 1952. William Ivor Jennings began his distinguished career as a Lecturer in Law at the Leeds university. He came to Ceylon in March 1941 as the second Principal of the Ceylon University College, succeeding Robert Marrs. The decision to establish a unitary residential university was taken as early as 1927. But owing to a much debated controversy over the site and the dealings of a ponderous bureaucracy its realisation was delayed until 1942 when Jennings was able to accomplish its transformation from a slow moving government department to an independent and autonomous institute. As the first vice chancellor of the University he amalgamated the University College and the Medical College into a single entity ensuring that the principles of learning, research, academic freedom and administrative autonomy were firmly in place. The next step was to transfer the University to its new site in Peradeniya. It was an enormous task which Jennings undertook with his usual flair and resourcefullness over the next 10 years. By 1952 the Faculties of Arts, Oriental studies, Agriculture and Veterinary Science, the Departments of Law and Dental Surgery were functioning in Peradeniya, along with eight Halls of Residence and Housing for the staff attractively distributed in the campus. A well-equipped and properly staffed Health Centre was also in place, and every modern facility for outdoor and indoor sports had been provided. Jennings also initiated informal activities in the fields of music, art and theatre and stressed the need for cultural activities to flourish. By the end of 1954 it could be said that a residential university at Peradeniya had begun to flourish. As a tribute for his untiring dedication in this accomplishment, the University Council on the recommendation of the Senate conferred on Jennings the Degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa at the general convocation held in Peradeniya on 22 October, 1954. In 1955 Sir Ivor - he was knighted in 1948 - left Ceylon to take up a new appointment as Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He also served a term as Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University from 1961 to 1963 before he died on 19 December, 1965 at the age of 62. By that time three more new faculties were functioning at the University of Ceylon in Peradeniya viz. Engineering, Science and Medicine, along with the spacious six-storey Central Library. Sir Ivor would have died happy knowing that his dream university created on the Oxbridge model had finally been realised. There were, of course, criticisms of his restricted vision of creating a single university confined to issuing internal degrees in English in a remote campus, in the face of growing nationalist fervour. So it was only to be expected that free education and the use of national languages as the medium of instruction would be imposed after he left and that eight more universities were opened in different parts of the country. But that does not take away from Sir Ivor's achievement of having developed the first fully fledged university in this country, and having served as its first Vice Chancellor, elected uncontested for three successive terms. |
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