Premier Ewart Brown has been given an award by fundraisers for a Caribbean university which Bermuda is planning to strike up a financial deal with.

The American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) presented him with its Luminary Award at a black-tie gala in New York on Thursday night, when actor Danny Glover and Sir Courtney Blackman, founding governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, were also honoured.

AFUWI spokeswoman AnnMarie Grant said the award was "given to individuals who have made an indelible mark on the Caribbean region's development and growth and by extension the world stage".

She added: "As a group, these persons represent the progress of a generation and a solid foundation for the future of the region's peoples and the diaspora."

Junior Minister Marc Bean attended the ceremony and told The Royal Gazette: "It was absolutely beautiful. It's something when you travel outside of Bermuda to see the respect and admiration that the people of the Caribbean have for Dr. Brown.

"There is a saying that a man isn't honoured in his own land. That was something that was revealed last night."

Dr. Brown, who was schooled in Jamaica, announced in July that Government had accepted an invitation from UWI to become a "contributing country".

Sen. Bean said yesterday it meant the Government would give an amount of money to the university — which has campuses in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad — each year so that Bermudian students attending there would only have to pay 20 percent of the fees.

He said the deal was not yet signed but he, Education Minister El James and Education Permanent Secretary Kevin Monkman were able to speak with the university's vice-chancellor on Thursday night and reiterate the Island's commitment to becoming a contributor.

Sen. Bean said he did not know exactly how much would be paid to the university each year but it would likely be "tens of thousands" of dollars. "As a government, what we do is contribute to the university and then it's for the benefit of our youth," he said.

AFUWI raises funds for projects, scholarships and academic programs at the university. Alumni of UWI in Bermuda includes tourism director William Griffith and Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves.