Two new honorary fellows inducted at Bermuda College

Bermuda College welcomes two new honorary fellows, Dr. Victor Scott and Dr. David Saul into the Company of Honorary Fellows (2013) of Bermuda College. Both were inducted this past weekend in ceremonies at Coco Reef Hotel.

Dr. Scott is Senior Vice President for Health Sciences at Howard University (retired), and Professor Emeritus, Howard University College of Medicine. Born in Bermuda, he is the son of Jamaican parents, Victor and Edna Scott, both of whom in their own right made outstanding contributions to education in Bermuda.

Victor Scott Primary School on Glebe Road is named after the elder Victor Scott; and Edna Scott was herself inducted into the Company of Honorary Fellows at Bermuda College in 1996. Dr. Scott has a wide and illustrious career in the medical field. He has been a member of the faculty of Howard University College of Medicine from 1971 until his retirement in July 2008 as Professor of Medicine.

He has served as Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology for 29 years, twelve of which were served as Vice-Chairman of the Department of Medicine, before being named as Interim Chairman of the Department in 2000, and Interim Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences at Howard in 2003. He fully assumed the role of Senior Vice President in 2005 before his retirement in 2007, having held oversight of all health-related activities within the University, inclusive of the Colleges of Medicine and Dentistry, the College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, the Howard University Hospital, the Health Sciences Library and the Student Health Service.

He has served diligently in senior positions on numerous national medical boards and organisations, and was recently elected to Mastership in the American College of Physicians. He has been nationally recognised for his dedication to training other physicians, especially young gastroenterologists.

He has directed the training of 50 such specialists over the course of 25 years, and is the recipient of the Laureate Award from the Washington D. C. Chapter of the American College of Physicians. In Bermuda, Dr. Scott has made several presentations at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, and served as its Interim Chief of Staff, from 2012-2013. He has also mentored more than a dozen Bermudian physicians who matriculated through Howard University College of Medicine during his tenure there.

Dr.Saul, a former Premier of Bermuda, has excelled at every one of his varied life interests and careers. Born in Bermuda, he was educated at Mount Saint Agnes Academy and Saltus Grammar School before travelling overseas to gain a certificate and then a diploma in education in England in 1960 and 1961, respectively. He returned to Bermuda and became a teacher at the old Sandys Grammar School, and then deputy principal at Cavendish School.

He furthered his education in Canada obtaining his undergraduate degree from Queen’s University and graduate and doctoral degrees from the University of Toronto. A decade after returning to Bermuda to begin his teaching career, Dr. Saul was back in Bermuda to carry out an in-depth study of Bermuda’s education system, completing it and presenting no less than 93 recommendations to the Government – one of which was to establish Bermuda College.

He has served in the civil service as Permanent Secretary of Education and Financial Secretary and was instrumental in persuading first Dr. Archie Hollis Hallett and then Dr. George Cook to return to Bermuda to take up positions with Bermuda College. Dr. Saul was also directly involved in assisting then Minister of Education, the Hon. Ernest Vesey, in finding a permanent home for the College at its current site on Stonington Avenue. Dr. Saul subsequently expanded his professional portfolio working at the firm of Mr. Edmund Gibbons and as International President of Fidelity International.

In 1989, he stood for a seat in Parliament, was successful and was appointed Minister of Finance mere weeks before the budget was to be presented. He aspired to the highest position in his political career, serving as Premier for two years. He recently received an honorary doctorate for “his work in education, politics and international business” from Loughborough University in England. Dr. Saul is an avid scuba diver, ocean kayaker, fisherman and underwater explorer.

He currently serves as Director of Odyssey Marine Exploration Company, which specialises in exploring the deep ocean. He became a Fellow of the Explorers Club in New York in 1997. A keen sportsman, Dr. Saul, at 74 years of age, recently won the Over-70 Category in the “Men in Motion” 5K Race in a time of 26 minutes, and has held every Bermuda running record from 1 mile to 10 miles. The prestigious ceremony was presided over by the Chairman of the Company of Honorary Fellows, Dr. Walwyn Hughes.