Open Day at the premier University

• By L.B.Senaratne

Vice Chancellor Professor M.D. Lamawansa nor the Dons of the premier University in the country did not forget to commence the ‘Open Day’ of the University of Peradeniya with the garlanding of the statue of Sir Ivor Jennings, the creator of the present University campus of Peradeniya. The university is 80 years old and the first recipient of an Honours Degree was the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka D.S. Senanayake  
The Prime Minister did not take his certificate, and had left it on the table of the make-shift Convocation Hall, perhaps forgetting to take it with him and it was only four years ago that the certificate  surfaced in the  office at the university and now it is framed and hung at the main library.
The granddaughter of Sir Ivor Jennings Ms. Rebbeca Caine said that Sir Ivor Jennings was separated from his family for seven years in founding the University of Peradeniya.

She said that she was truly humbled that her great grandfather was a carpenter and his mother was a corset maker. Their house was basic but Jennings had been born into a time of great social mobility where a smart boy could really make something of himself. “Papa grasped every opportunity offered and worked incredibly hard.”
Ms. Caine said that even the death of his father when Jennings was 14 did not stop his progress and about his mother, of whom he once said would have starved herself to give him an education, gained a place at Cambridge and put him on the path that led him to Sri Lanka.

She said that all her life her mother Shirley Watson had spoken of Sri Lanka in mystical terms. Her siblings and she grew up in a house surrounded by lovely objects from this country. 
Ms. Rebecca Caine also addressed the distinguished gathering and gave a vivid description of how Sir Ivor spent seven years separated from his family for the sake of building this unique university.
Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Lakshman Wijeweera proposed the vote of thanks.