President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and theAsantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, have congratulated Professor Mrs.Rita Akosua Dickson on her investiture as the 11th Vice-Chancellor ofthe Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The newly-invested Vice-Chancellor is the first female to occupy thatprestigious position in the history of Ghana’s foremost science andtechnology educational institution.
She takes over from Prof. Kwasi Obiri-Danso, whose term of officeofficially, ended July 31, this year.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, addressing the gathering atthe investiture, held at the Great Hall, Kumasi, said the Universitycommunity should rally behind the new Vice-Chancellor.
She ought to be given the needed support and cooperation to realizethe overall vision and mission of KNUST.
The President said the University had an important role to play inthe area of science and technology, which had become the drivingforce behind successful nations.
“The 21st Century is going to be dominated by science andtechnology,” President Akufo-Addo noted, and asked the newVice-Chancellor to be up to the task in leading the University to come outwith cutting-edge research findings and innovative ideas in order torealise Ghana’s development agenda.
The University, he said, would be given the requisite support bythe government to enhance research work, technology transfer and thetraining of the requisite human resource for the society.Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who is Chancellor of the KNUST, said Prof.
Mrs.Akosua Dickson’s appointment as the first female Vice-Chancellor, hadcome as a motivation to women.“Akosua, you cannot forget your great-great-grandmother, the famousYaa Asantewaa.“Always remember, you share the same ancestral blood and I see inyou, the Yaa Asantewaa of KNUST,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu II remarked.
The Chancellor asked the new Vice-Chancellor to strive to bring hermanagerial and academic capabilities to bear for sustainable growth ofthe University.
She should pursue the University’s Strategic “Plan 2K25” withseriousness to enable the authorities achieve their aims andobjectives.The Asantehene asked Prof.
Akosua Dickson to endeavour to considersuggestions put across by the University community, saying she shouldbring all stakeholders on board in the discharge of her duties.
Prof. (Mrs) Akosua Dickson, a product of the Wesley Girls’ HighSchool, Cape Coast, obtained her first degree in Pharmacy at theKNUST.
She went on to pursue graduate studies leading to the award of Masterof Pharmacy degree in Pharmacognosy in 1999, and was appointedlecturer at the University in 2000.
Her academic endeavours enabled her to study for a Doctor ofPhilosophy degree at Kings’ College, University of London, UnitedKingdom (UK).
She returned to teaching and research at KNUST in 2007 and gotpromoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer in 2009, and further toAssociate Professor of Pharmacognosy in 2014.
Prior to her appointment, Prof. Akosua Dickson served as the ProVice-Chancellor.
SOURCE
GNA