Basil Winthorpe Wilson, PhD

Basil Wilson was born in Kingston, Jamaica on August 29, 1943.
He attended Vaz Preparatory School from 1952 to 1955. He started
high school studies at Kingston College in 1955 and graduated from
sixth form in 1961. In 1962, he was included in the Jamaica soccer
squad to train for the Pan American Games. His college years began in 1962 at Queens College, City University of New York an completed a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in political science. He received a scholarship from the City University Graduate and University Center in 1972 where he went on to complete a PhD in Political Science.

Basil Wilson began his academic career in 1974 as an instructor in
African American Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and

subsequently was promoted to Full Professor in 1990. Also, in 1990, Prof. Wilson was appointed Provost and Senior V.P. of Academic Affairs at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He served in that capacity for sixteen years and retired from the City University in 2008. In 2009, he accepted the position of Dean of Criminal Justice at Monroe College, Bronx, New York and continued at Monroe until retirement in August 2017. Professor Wilson is the author of numerous publications in the fields of Criminal Justice, Urban Violence and Political Economy. For the last 27 years he has written a weekly column for New York Carib News and has periodically published articles in the Jamaican Sunday Observer. Basil Wilson has been an active member of the Jamaican Diaspora community. He was the founder of Ball Harambee (1980-1990), an annual soccer tournament in the New York Metropolitan Area. This brought together Jamaican soccer teams from Washington, D.C., New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Philadelphia, and Canada. He was a founding member of the New York Olympic Fundraising Committee to raise sorely needed foreign exchange for Jamaican athletes in the 1980s. He was also a founding member of the New York Chapter of the Kingston College Old Boy’s Association in 1981. Throughout his academic years, he has written numerous recommendations and mentored quite a number of students aspiring
to attend law school and other professional studies. He was also a founding member of the Research Committee of Jamaica, an organization that became involved in the quality of education in Jamaica and developed a mentoring relationship with the students of Trench Town High School. At present, Prof. Wilson is the co-chairman of the New York Committee for the Children of Rae Town, a non-profit group that raises funds and puts on an annual Christmas treat for the children in Rae Town and surrounding communities. Funds are also raised to enhance the quality of education for St. Michael’s Primary School in Central Kingston. Despite Prof. Wilson’s academic and professional responsibilities, there was always time for family and community engagements. He is a devoted family man and has been married to Phyllis for over 50 years. They have three children and seven grandchildren.