Friday, February 26, 2010

                       Professor Patricia Martin-Deleon (l.) holds the rapt attention of members

                       of the Excelsior family including (r-l) students, Principal Deanroy Bromfield

                       Senior Vice Principal Allison Peart and President of the Excelsior Past Students

                       Association, Winsome Halliman.

A cross section of the Excelsior fraternity welcomed and paid tribute to alumnus and illustrious academic Professor Patricia Martin-Deleon (’64) when she visited her alma mater on Friday February 19, 2010.

Dr. Patricia Martin-Deleon, a Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware made her approximately 90 minutes-long courtesy call while she was in Jamaica to accept an award from University of the West Indies as 2010 Mona Homecoming Honoree.

The professor, a graduate of the Excelsior Class of 1964, is one of the leading Black female scientists in the United States and has done ground-breaking research in chromosomes and their effect on health. It was at Excelsior that the seed of her outstanding academic career was first planted and nurtured; a point she was keen to emphasise as she interacted with members of the school's fraternity.

Joined by members of the Board, teachers, students (current and past), and other members of the XLCR family- as well as by her sister, Dr. Yvonne M. Martin-Newcombe- Prof Martin–Deleon was taken on a  tour of the newly refurbished science labs.  But not before an impassioned speech to students, interspersed with humorous anecdotes, delivered in the auditorium of the institution from which she had graduated more than 40 years ago.

                                      Professor Patricia Martin-Deleon (r.) enjoys a light moment with

                                      her sister and fellow alumnus, Dr. Yvonne Martin-Newcombe, a

                                    Professor Emerita based at the University of Victoria in Canada                                    

With her sister and fellow Excelsior alumnus Dr. Yvonne M. Martin-Newcombe (’62), herself a Professor Emerita at the University of Victoria, at her side, Prof  Martin-Deleon urged the students to  have the courage to pursue their dreams and aspirations. 

During her speech Professor Martin-Deleon also recounted her pleasant experiences and encounters with Excelsior’s founder and first principal A.W. Powell. She commended Excelsior for being the only school at the time to accept “older students” into the system from which she had benefitted. Prof. Martin-Deleon, her sister, and other siblings, most of them Excelsior past students, have gone to scale great heights in academics. 

The Award as University of the West Indies’ 2010 Mona Homecoming Honoree was the latest in a long list of awards for the renowned academic.  Earlier this year she was at the White House to accept from President Barack Obama the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering mentoring.

Professor Patricia Martin-Deleon has been based at the University of Delaware for more than 30 years.