Biography

Cyril Kenrick Hunte, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Economics at Howard University and he has been a member of the faculty from 1996. He served as the Director of Graduate Studies in the Economics Department at Howard University from October 2009 to August 2016. Kenrick was an Adjunct Professor at Bowie State University, Lecturer in Economics at Johns Hopkins University, and a Lecturer, Agricultural Economics at the University of Guyana. From August 2016, Kenrick was on leave from the Department of Economics for a 4-year term as resident High Commissioner of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to the Republic of South Africa, with concurrent accreditations as non-resident High Commissioner to the Republic of Namibia, Zambia, The Gambia, and Ambassador to Zimbabwe; and with confirmed appointments as High Commissioner to the Republic of Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, and the Kingdom of Eswatini.

In January 2021, Kenrick resumed his positions as Professor in the Department of Economics and recommenced his responsibility for managing the Chapter of the Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE) Economics Honor Society at Howard University. His previous professional/academic work experience includes being a Consultant at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and a consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations. These consultancies were conducted in India and in the Caribbean regarding savings and access to credit in rural financial markets. In Guyana, Kenrick was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director at the Guyana Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank (GAIBANK) from 1985-1994; Deputy General Manager and Senior Project Officer in 1984; Senior Loan Administration and Research Officer from July 1980-1984. These responsibilities involved the management of credit programs financed with equity and donor funds from Inter-American Development Bank, Canadian International Development Agency, European Investment Bank for agriculture projects, microenterprise and small-scale enterprises investments in manufacturing, agribusiness, mining, forestry, and fishing.

Lectures, speeches, interviews, professional service, and publications include scholarly articles in peer review journals, book chapters, the Guyana Review Journal, letters to Editors on various issues, inclusive of topics on Economic Development, Rural Financial Markets, and Diaspora engagements. These presentations were made on various platforms, such as the Ubuntu Radio station in South Africa, television programs in Guyana, Washington, DC, and at Educational institutions, such as the University of Pretoria and University of Johannesburg in South Africa: Future work in these areas will continue to be of professional interest, along with community service.

During his Diplomatic service, Kenrick embarked upon a Pre-School project and personally funded, along with contributions from family, friends, and Churches in New York the construction of 2 classrooms to house approximately 70 underprivileged children, 1 to 5 years of age. These classrooms, which are key elements of the Elias Motsoaledi Day Care and Pre-school, is in a very impoverished community, called a ‘township’ in Devland, Soweto, South Africa