LaVerne E. Ragster

LaVerne Erina Ragster (born 1951) is a U.S. Virgin Island marine biologist and academic administrator who served as the fourth president of the University of the Virgin Islands from 2002 to 2009.

Early life and education Ragster was born in 1951 on Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

In 1969, she graduated from Charlotte Amalie High School. Her dissertation was titled, Proteinases and the Control of Protein Degradation in the Leaves of Soybean (G̲l̲y̲c̲i̲n̲e̲ m̲a̲x̲ [L.] Merr). Her focus was on the conservation of marine resources. In 2022, the administration and conference center building of UVI was named in her honor.