Professor Colin Gyles has been serving as Acting President of the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja.) since April 2020. Previously, he served as Deputy President (January 2015 – March 2020), during which period, he served as Acting President for 17 months, from August 2015 to December 2016.  For outstanding service to Jamaica, he was awarded the Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation for Service to Education, and for his service to dentistry, in contributing to the setting up of an internationally recognized dental school, he received Honorary Fellowship in the International College of Dentists (FICD). He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry, with a multidisciplinary focus, from the University of the West Indies, (UWI).

Professor Gyles was instrumental in the establishment of the Faculty of Science and Sport at UTech, Ja in 2009 and served as the Faculty’s first Dean. This included establishment of the School of Natural and Applied Sciences, the School of Mathematics and Statistics, the Caribbean School of Sport Sciences, the Centre for Science-based Research, Entrepreneurship and Continuing Studies and the Integrated Optics and Photonics Research Laboratory.

During his tenure, Professor Gyles led the development of several graduate and undergraduate courses of study in keeping with the University’s thrust to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.  These included degrees in Chemistry, Applied Science, Sports Science, Actuarial Science, Applied Statistics, Physical Education and Sport, Integrated Health Science and Mathematics Education.  In pursuance of his passion for influencing the application of science in different areas, Professor Gyles has spearheaded the development of several sport coaching courses in football, netball and cricket in collaboration with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Netball Jamaica (NJ) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) respectively.

He has published in leading international peer reviewed scientific journals, including the Journal of Spectroscopy and Dynamics, Inorganica Chimica Acta, Journal of Coordination Chemistry, Talanta, Journal of Molecular Structures, Spectrochimica Acta, among others.

He currently serves as a Commissioner of the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission and Member of the National Quality Policy Council.  Professor Gyles has also served on a number of other Boards and Committees at the community and national levels.  These include membership on the National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST); membership on the Health and Scientific Committee of the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA); Chairman of the Board of Charlemont High School, a government-owned and operated educational institution; Council Member of the Caribbean Maritime University; Commissioner of the Overseas Examinations Commission and Director of the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS).