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George F. Tyson is a public historian, who is recognized as a leading authority on Virgin Islands histo­ ry. He has authored or co-authored numerous publications, including: “Toussaint L’Ouverture” (1973); “The Carolina Black Corps: Legacy of the American Revolution 1783-1798” (1976); “The Enighed Estate and Ruin of St. John: An Historical Survey” (1976); “Powder, Profits and Privateers: A Docu­ mentary History of the Virgin Islands During the Era of the American Revolution” (1977); “A Guide to Manuscripts in United States and West Indian Repositories Relating to the British West Indies During the Era of the American Revolution” (1978); “Robert Mackay Hughes and the Origins of Independence Sentiment on St. Thomas, 1870-1875” (1981); “The St. Thomas Harbor” (1985); “The Homestead Program on St. Croix” (1991); “On The Periphery of the Peripheries: The Cotton Plantations of St. Croix, Danish West Indies 1735- 1815” (1992); “The Kamina Folk: Slavery and Slave Life in the Danish West Indies” (1994); “The Danish Slave Trade and Its Abolition” (1994); “Our Side: Caribbean Immigrants and the Transition to Free Labor on St. Croix 1849-1879” (1995); “Bondsmen and Freedmen in the Danish West Indies: Scholarly Perspectives” (1997); “In Search of Truth and Justice: The Writings of Ralph de Chabert 1916-1922” (2009); “Negotiating Enslavement: Perspectives on Slavery in the Danish West Indies” (2009); “Bethlehem: The His­ tory of a Crucian Sugar Plantation 1734-1966” (2011); and “Maritime Marronage From St. Croix to Puerto Rico 1734-1848” (2012). In addition to writing and lecturing, Tyson is a cultural re­ source specialist, who has authored over seventy historical background studies for plantation and urban properties in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as historic site inventories, museum reports and heritage tourism studies for the Virgin Islands and various Caribbean countries. In that capacity, he has held consultancies with government agencies, UNESCO, the OAS, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Museums Association of the Caribbean, the Island Resources Foundation and cultural resource management firms. Having received his Master’s degree in History from Columbia University in 1966, Tyson took up residence in the Virgin Islands. He lived on St. Thomas until 1992, and then moved to St. Croix, where he currently resides. In addition to teaching History at the University of the Virgin Islands, and work­ ing for many years as a Research Associate with the Island Resources Foundation, he has served as President of the St. Thomas Historical Trust, Executive Director of the St. Croix Landmarks Society, President of the Society of Virgin Islands Historians, Board Member the St. John Historical Society, Board Member of SUCCEED, Board Member of the Museums Association of the Caribbean, Advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and member of the Advisory Board to UNESCO’s Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade Program. Currently, Tyson is Director of the St. Croix African Roots Project, a collaboration of Danish and American scholars engaged in documenting and studying the demographic characteristics, individual biographies and family histories of enslaved and free Crucians of African ancestry during the period of Danish rule (1734-1917). One major outcome of this project has been The St. Croix Population Database 1734-1917, consisting of nearly two million biographical records compiled from a vast ar­ ray of historical documents archived in Denmark, the U.S. and the Virgin Islands. This still-evolving, educational resource, which is available online and at libraries on St. Croix, enables Virgin Islanders to reconstruct their history from an indigenous perspective and to trace their family roots back to African ancestors and to African homelands. George F. Tyson Honorary Doctorate George F. Tyson Forty-Ninth Annual Commencement ST. THOMAS Saturday, the Eleventh of May Two Thousand and Thirteen Seven O’Clock in the Evening Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands ST. CROIX Sunday, the Twelfth of May Two Thousand and Thirteen Half after Four O’Clock in the Afternoon Campus Grounds St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands