Dr. Ronald Harrigan and Dr. Leonard Richardson

Chatting with Dr Leonard Richardson

Dr. Ronald Harrigan & I were classmates at CVI 1966-1967. Dr. Leonard Richardson, my neighbor from our youth, were members of the Boys Scout Troop sponsored by Sts. Peter & Paul School. These gentlemen have immersed themselves in educating the masses abroad & our Fellow-Virgin Islanders. Retired Dr Harrigan, with a PhD in Education, is actively educating via his recent articles & upcoming book. In the Oct. 27th edition of "Centennial Countdown" in the Virgin Islands Daily News, his article was published about the Virgin Islands' education foundation that was laid long before Transfer Day. It was the first of a 3-part series on the development of a system of education for the free and enslaved population in the then-Danish West Indies, leading to a literate population by the time emancipation in 1848 and the islands' transfer of March 31, 1917. Dr. Harrigan is a part-time professor of education at UVI, president of the Virgin Islands Genealogical Society, chairman of the Virgin Islands Sports Commission, and associate professor of education at UVI. Dr. Leonard Richardson was educated at the Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic School & the Charlotte Amalie High School. He attended the then-Morgan State College, now Morgan State University (MSU), where he received a BA degree with double majors in English Literature & History. He was appointed to the position of Coordinator of Language Arts for the Virgin Islands Dept. of Education under the Commissioner of Education, Dr. Linda Creque. He went into the classroom & schools as an administrator, assistant principal, & coordinator in Language Arts, English as a Second Language (ESL), English Language Learning (ELL), & the Coordinator for the English Writing Proficiency exam at the University of the Virgin Islands.