Generation 2000

Richard Toomer was born in Kingston, Jamaica and grew up in Duhaney Park. After graduating primary school in that community, he went on to attend Jamaica College where his love for competitive sport developed from an active player to one of excelling in sport administration.

After working in the private sector for eleven years, he made the decision to attend the University of the West Indies (UWI) as a full-time student in 2002. It was at UWI where his excellence in administration demonstrated a new facet in leadership and management within student services.

Still competing in sport and serving as captain of the university’s basketball team, Richard was elected unopposed as Games Committee Chairman (GCC) on the Guild of Students. His tenure lead to the re-opening of the UWI Gym; and the introduction of the TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) Initiative which is a venture that offers recreational sporting activities to all students at the Mona Campus of the UWI at a minimal cost which is included in the school fees. While serving as GCC, he represented Jamaica and the Intercollegiate Sports Association at a forum hosted by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) in Lisbon Portugal (July 2004). After being Chairman for a workshop, in which a presentation was made to the forum, he was selected as the male student to represent all students from International Sporting University’s, to make a presentation at the FISU Conference in Izmir, Turkey (August 2005) during the World University Games, on the proposed formation of an “International University Sports Student Council”.

In 2005, the students at the UWI elected him to the high office of President for the Guild of Students with a primary mandate of establishing a Dental Clinic for the university. This mandate was achieved, and opened its doors in academic year 2006/07, offering services to students, staff, and retirees of the university. After graduating from the UWI, he was immediately employed by the university to manage the Sport Enhancement Project which began the new thrust in sport and facility development at the Mona Campus.

He holds a Master of Science degree in Sport Studies with specialization in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in the USA, and a Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations with a minor in Public Administration from the University of the West Indies. His many awards include the UWI Premier Award for Leadership, and Richard holds the distinction of being a Lifetime Vice Chancellor’s Ambassador for the UWISTAT (UWI, Students Today Alumni Tomorrow).

Richard is a Lecturer in Sport Management in the Caribbean School of Sport Sciences at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTECH), and Programme Leader for the Master of Science degree in Physical Education and Sport offered at UTECH in collaboration with the G.C. Foster College for Physical Education and Sport. He sits on several faculty committees’ at UTECH, and holds international membership to several sport associations including the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association, and the European Association for Sport Management.

Politically, he served as an interim President for the Mona Campus Youth League, and currently serves on the Management Committee of Generation 2000.