Mr. Edward Thomas, Chairman of the Board
Mr. Thomas graduated from the Charlotte Amalie High School on St. Thomas in June, 1961 and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Accounting from Inter-American University in May, 1966. He retired in 2011 from The West Indian Company Limited, which he served as its president and chief executive officer for many years. In this position, he was responsible for managing cruise ship operations and also the Havensight Shopping Mall for its owners, the Government Employees Retirement System. He served on the board of the St. Thomas/St. John Chamber of Commerce as well as the board of the St. Thomas/St. John Hotel & Tourism Association, on the board of directors of the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, the Foundation for the University of the Virgin Islands, and the UVI Board of Trustees. Based on his knowledge and experience he was appointed to serve on the West Indian Company Limited Board of Directors. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Research and Technology Park Board of Directors.
Dr. Safiya George, President of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI)
Dr. George is the 6th President and a proud alumna of the University of the Virgin Islands. She was also a student-athlete during her time at UVI. Prior to serving as President, Dr. George served as Holli Rockwell Trubinsky Eminent Dean, Professor and Helen K. Persson Eminent Scholar at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University. She also served as Chief Executive of the college's Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center (Memory Disorder Clinic and Adult Day Center) and the FAU/NCHA Community Health Center (two locations).
Dr. George previously served as Dean for Research and Associate Professor at the University of Alabama and as Assistant Professor and other leadership roles at Emory University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Religion and Health/Theology and Medicine at Duke University and her Master's and PhD at Emory University. She earned her Associate's and Bachelor's degrees at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Dr. George has served on several boards of directors in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and on two international boards. She has published widely and her research has primarily focused on HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases and more recently on using artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning to develop predictive models for COVID-19 outcomes and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders.
She has also received numerous awards, including most recently the Distinguished Alumni Award from Emory University. She is a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
Judge Henry Smock, Chair of the UVI Board of Trustees
Henry C. Smock, a former Territorial Court Judge, has been practicing law in the Virgin Islands for over 39 years. Born in Los Angeles, California, he received his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University and law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a partner in the Law Firm of Smock & Moorhead, a practice that was established in 2006.
His professional memberships include the Virgin Islands Bar Association, serving as a past President, Wyoming and American Bar Associations, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Virgin Islands Committee of Bar Examiners and Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association.
Mr. Smock serves on and chairs several non-profit boards and commissions, including Lutheran Social Services, the Virgin Islands Academic and Cultural Awards Endowment, Foundation for the Reichhold Center for the Arts, Virgin Islands Research and Technology Park, and is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of the Virgin Islands.
He received the Winston Hodge Award for Public Service from the Virgin Islands Bar Association in 2011 and the Dedicated Service Award from Lutheran Social Services.
Mr. Ian Tomlinson, Member
As president of Omni Systems, Ian Tomlinson, with co-founder Reginald Vigilant, oversees a staff of about One hundred-fifteen (115) and directs the company resources in the delivery of state-of-the-art digital transformation solutions in a variety of markets. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, the company’s client list includes several fortune 500 companies, the Virgin Islands Government, the Federal Government, and state governments.
Mr. Tomlinson graduated from St. Croix Central High School and went on to receive his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and an Associate degree Data Processing from the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). At UVI, Mr. Tomlinson work in various computer labs and with Professor Lynn Rosenthal on several software projects including UVI’s first distant learning system. While attending UVI, Mr. Tomlinson worked as a software developer for First Pennsylvania Bank and later for the V.I. Water and Power Authority as a Database Administrator and PC expert.
In 1990, Mr. Tomlinson left the Virgin Islands to pursue advanced degrees in Information Technology. In 1992, he obtained his Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from American University in Washington, DC. Mr. Tomlinson’s post graduate studies have been at George Mason University with a concentration in Software Engineering.
Before starting Omni Systems in 1993, Mr. Tomlinson was a Senior Associate Booz-Allen & Hamilton - a global consulting company. A highlight of Mr. Tomlinson’s career was a joint presentation with Bill Gate at a FOSE conference in Washington DC. A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Tomlinson is as a co-founder to businesses in Trinidad, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.
Mr. Tomlinson is married to UVI graduate Averil Archibald, and they have two sons, both of whom are recent college graduates. Mr. Tomlinson resides in Springfield, VA and St. Thomas, VI.
Dr. William DeLone, Member
Dr. William DeLone is one of the most widely cited researchers in information systems management. His model for measuring the success of information systems has been cited by over 18,500 articles according to Google Scholar. Dr. DeLone is a Professor Emeritus of Information Technology at the Kogod School of Business at American University where he taught for over 30 years. He is the Co-Founder and former Executive Director of the Kogod Cybersecurity Governance Center which promotes responsible cybersecurity governance by providing organizational leaders with thoughtful, practical and well-supported guidance on the cybersecurity issues that are essential to their core stakeholder responsibilities.
At the Kogod School of Business Dr. DeLone served as the Acting Dean, the Senior Associate Dean, Dean of Graduate Programs and Chair of the Department of Information Technology. In 2008, President Cornelius Kerwin, appointed him Chair of American University’s Strategic Planning Steering Committee. He also served as the Director of the Center for Teaching, Research and Learning, the University’s faculty development center.
Dr. DeLone was a Business Division faculty member of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) faculty from 1970 until 1986. During his tenure at UVI, he served as Chair of the Business Division and as Assistant to the President. Among his contributions to UVI, Dr. DeLone taught the University’s first computer programming course, assisted in the purchase of the University’s first computer system, established the Data Processing program and co-wrote the successful application to create the federally funded Small Business Development Centers for St. Thomas and St. Croix. Within the community, he also served as the Third Vice President of the St. Thomas Chamber of Commerce and as President of the St. Thomas Lions Club.
While on leave from American University in 2001-2002, Dr. DeLone served as a Special Assistant to UVI President Dr. Orville Kean for the purpose of assisting in the creation the University of the Virgin Islands Research and Technology Park (RTPark). He later served as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the RTPark from 2008 to 2013.
Dr. DeLone's primary areas of research include the assessment of information systems' effectiveness and value, digital governance, and e-government.
Professor DeLone has lectured and consulted on information systems at universities in London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Warsaw, Galway, Singapore, Kuwait, Leipzig & Saarbrucken in Germany, and Guatemala. He was appointed as an Honorary Professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway and as a visiting research professor at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Professor DeLone earned a B. S. in mathematics from Villanova University; an M. S. in industrial administration from Carnegie-Mellon University; and a Ph.D. in Computers and Information Systems from the University of California, Los Angeles. His dissertation studied the successful use of computers and information systems by small businesses.
Dr. DeLone is married to local Virgin Islander Debra Brown-DeLone and has three children Niki, Tim and Andrea who attended school on St. Thomas.