A.Z. Preston: The Man and His Vision
Aston Zachariah Preston was born in Kingston on April 16, 1925. he was the last of six children born to a ship’s mechanic and a housewife. In the 1930’s he attended elementary school and further received his secondary education at Kingston Technical High School.
On June 1, 1951, at age 26, he joined the staff of the then University College of the West Indies as a Senior Accounting Clerk. He worked tirelessly in his new job, and two years later was promoted to the post of accountant. From then his progress through University has been one of steady acceleration. 1995 was a successful and memorable year for Mr. Preston, as it was then that he was appointed bursar and also through his scholastic achievement earned an external Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) at the reputable University of London. Mr. Preston continued to work assiduously in his new post so much that in 1956, he received a promotion to the honourable post of campus bursar.
At this stage, his career was marked by several outstanding achievements. In 1960, he became a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica, and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, London in 1970. Mr. Preston had an eye for detail and carried out his duty with boldness and accountability; a notable achievement indeed especially at a time when the Caribbean Community was suffering from the debilitating austerities of the pre and post independence periods.
Mr. Preston ascended to the post of Pro Vice Chancellor in charge of finance in 1969. Five years later, he reached the peak of his University career when he was preferred to the distinguished position of Vice Chancellor of this university. He served remarkably well in this capacity up to the time of his death in 1986.
Given his impressive background, Vice Chancellor Preston would not let himself become circumscribed to the University community. He was also Chairman of the Public Accountancy Board; Chairman of the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (of PAHO), Trinidad; member of the board of Governors, University of Guyana; member, Grants Committee of the University of the South Pacific; member of UNESCO’s Advisory Committee of Regional Centre for Higher Education in Latin America; and he served as council Chairman of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
Other appointments included Chairman of Jamaica State Trading Corporation; Chairman of the Jamaica Omnibus Association and Chair of workers Savings and Loans Bank; He was Financial Advisor for the commission dealing with the future of education in East Africa and Financial Advisor of the commission on University of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland.
Dr. Preston was a key negotiator in the effort to provide more desperately needed student accommodation on the UWI campus. He played an instrumental role in seeking funding from the European Union for the construction of a new hall. Sadly, though, he died before these plans were materialized.
On March 20, 1990, four years after his passing, financing was approved by the European Development Fund for the building of a hall of residence on the Mona campus of UWI. This place of residence was named A.Z. Preston Hall, in honour of Dr. A.Z. Preston and was opened to students in September of 1998.
Today, the A.Z. Preston hall stands as a monument commemorating the life, hard work, and vision of this highly esteemed gentleman – the Honourable Aston Zachariah Preston.