Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo appointed Vice-Chancellor of University of Ghana
The University Council of the University of Ghana on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, appointed Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo as Vice-Chancellor of the University.
Her appointment takes effect from October 26, 2021.
Professor Amfo, by this appointment, becomes the first woman to occupy the position of Vice-Chancellor in the University.
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo is the Acting Vice-Chancellor and Pro Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for Academic and Student Affairs (ASA) at the University of Ghana.
A news brief to the media described her as an experienced academic and university administrator, with twenty years of experience in the higher education sector.
It said she brought a lot of innovation, resourcefulness, and tact to her professional engagements, and adept at change management.
The brief said as Pro Vice-Chancellor (ASA), she brought significant technological innovation to impact the University’s academic and administrative processes.
It said prior to her becoming Pro Vice-Chancellor (ASA) in November 2019, Professor Amfo was founding Dean of the School of Languages (2014 – 2019).
The news brief said she previously served as the Head of the Department of Linguistics (2013 – 2014) and has participated in the governance of the University of Ghana through her service on several statutory and ad hoc boards and committees.
It said Professor Amfo was a professor of Linguistics and obtained both her PhD and MPhil degrees from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
It said her bachelor’s degree in French and Linguistics was from the University of Ghana and that she had a post-graduate certificate in Administration and Management from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and had received additional training in higher education management and leadership from Harvard Business School, University of Applied Sciences, Germany, and INSEAD, France.
The brief said she was a past student of Holy Child School (O’Level) and Archbishop Porter’s Girls Secondary School (A’Level).
It said Professor Amfo’s career in academia started in 2001 as a Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics after her Masters’ degree.
It said in 2007, the same year, she obtained her PhD degree and was promoted Senior Lecturer.
The brief said she became Associate Professor in 2011, and Professor in 2017.
It said Professor Amfo had acquired extensive multi-cultural experience through various professional engagements in twenty countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.
It said her passion for mentoring particularly younger professional women had driven her to organise and or facilitate several capacity building training programmes in both the public and private higher education sectors, as well as in other public and private organisations.
It said Professor Amfo’s professional expertise and leadership had been recognised by her peers, adding that, she served on the Consultation Board of the International Pragmatics Association and an Assistant Secretary General of the Federation of Modern Languages and Literatures, FILLM (a UNESCO affiliated scholarly association).
It said she was the President of the Linguistics Association of Ghana (2010 – 2014) and a member of the West African Linguistics Society and the Society for Communication, Medicine and Ethics (COMET).
The news brief said she was a pioneer fellow, senior scholar, mentor, and assessor of the African Humanities Programme of the American Council of Learned Societies.
It said she was the Chair of the Interim Executive Committee of the African Humanities Association (AHA), an off-shoot of the AHP and currently the Associate Director for Transition for the AHA.
The brief said she was Co-founder and the Acting President of the African Pragmatics Association and a fellow of the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD), Commonwealth Professionals Fellowship, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the prestigious International Women’s Forum Leadership Program.
It said she was married with three children.
Source: GNA