A two-member delegation from the British Council has paid a courtesy call on the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. G. K. T. Oduro at his office.   The visit was meant to explore possible ways of the collaboration between UCC and the British Council. The team comprised Assistant Director, Emily Sawle Thomas and Project Delivery Manager, Christiana Bandoh.   Emily Thomas said the British Council was very happy to support UCC in finding collaborations that would enhance the quality of delivery by faculty.  It was for that reason they were on campus to explore more on institutional sponsorship to ascertain how effective that could be and also what could be done to take it to the next level. She said their visit was also intended to express appreciation to the university for hosting the UK International Fair on its campus last year.   A lecturer at the School of Allied Health Sciences, UCC, Dr. Patrick Ofori who accompanied the British Council delegation urged the two parties to consider issues concerning students in their collaboration.  Dr. Ofori specifically mentioned areas such as how to link up and treat foreign students, how to groom students for both internships and job interviews. He called for the institutionalization of such collaborations instead of allowing them to be revolving around individuals who do the linking up.   Prof. Oduro in his response said he was very much delighted to be receiving the delegation on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor indicating that the visit has opened up an avenue for dialogue and discussions.   Assuring the delegation that the collaborations would not be “hijacked” by individuals, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor said it was now mandatory for collaborations to go through the appropriate university processes before they were finally approved.   Prof. Oduro told the delegation that one area that needed to be considered critically was how to write winnable research grant proposals by local researchers. He said since most of the research comes from foreign partners it was difficult for local researchers to lead in such research undertakings and therefore warrants serious capacity building and strengthening. In that direction, he proposed to the British Council to invite people from the United Kingdom and elsewhere to help in the capacity building process.  

Implications of the Recent Utility/Fuel Price Hikes on the Ghanaian Economy Reflections on Recent Developments and Regulatory Directives in Microfinance

17th February 2016 Sasakawa Conference Centre

University of Cape CoastImplications of the Recent Utility/Fuel Price Hikes on the Ghanaian EconomyImplications

•       Government –      Increase in Revenue for Development –      Provisions and Availability of Utilities –      Financial Sustainability of the Utility Sector •       Households –      Increase in cost  (Transportation,  Commodities etc) –      Reduction in Real  Income (Spending) –      Increased Unemployment –      Decrease in Welfare •       Industry –      Increase in Cost of Production (labour and capital ) –      Low Productivity  and  Low Profits –      Redundancy (lay-off  of workers) and Closure of firms Recommendations •       Revenue –      Widening the tax base -  more of the informal sector –      Block leakages and wastages ( wasteful activities and corruption) •       Utilities –      Key energy-intensive industrial firms must be encouraged to adopt newer technologies that help to reduce the energy-intensity –      Review the current electricity tariff structure (reduction in subsidization  of non-productive sector –      Reduction in distribution losses and improvement in efficiency  

Reflections on Recent Developments and Regulatory Directives in Microfinance Developments

•       The microfinance sector at a crossroads (From Micro to Macro) •       Landscape has changed considerably –      More heterogeneous, Entry is confused , Regulation is Confused –      Funding landscape has changed, MFIs Numbers have increased –      Real Competition  is still missing •       Results and Implications –      Non-performing loans –      Withdrawal of deposits as a result of panic and lost of confidence –      Increase in default (delinquency) –      Moral Hazard –      Public Panic and Outcry The way forward •       Government Responsibility - Guarantee -  embedded in the regulation –      Embargo on the Start-up of MFIs/Operations –      Improvement Risk Management Systems –      Improvement of Institutional/Governance Structures –      Training and capacity building - standardized. –      Improvement of Market infrastructure     •       Credit referencing: •       Consumer protection •       Deposit protection –      Rebuild Confidence in the Sub-Sector (educational campaigns, rating of institutions, credit bureaus) –      Improving Financial Literacy Summary •       The hikes in the utility and fuel prices have negatively affected the welfare of the citizenry. •       The recent developments in the Microfinance sector have negatively affected the finances of the clientele of the dubious Institutions •       Government policies should always seek to maximize the welfare of the citizenry 

The final year group of the M.Ed. Educational Administration (Sandwich) of the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) have presented a set of visitors’ chairs and table to the institute. The group totalling 260 were represented by their course reps at the ceremony. The group presented the set of furniture to the IEPA as part of their effort to maintain IEPA as the lead institute in the training of Educational Administrators and Planners in Ghana in the sub-region.   The Director (Dr. Mrs. Rosemary Bosu) who received the furniture on behalf of the institute expressed her gratitude to the group for the kind gesture and assured the group the institute will not relent on her efforts at producing well trained educational managers for the country.  Prof. Yaw A. Ankomah (former Director) also applauded the group and commissioned them as ambassadors of IEPA and UCC to always ensure quality education in Ghanaian schools.

An alumnus of the University of Cape Coast, Dr. Daniel A. Wubah has been appointed as the President of Millersville University in the United States of America.

The Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education unanimously selected Dr. Daniel A. Wubah, a former provost and senior adviser to the president of Washington and Lee University, to be the next president of Millersville University of Pennsylvania, effective July 1.

Dr. Wubah was introduced to the university community at a reception on April 6. Dr. Wubah earned a Bachelor of Science with honours in botany and a Diploma in Education from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a Master of Science in biology from the University of Akron and a Ph.D. in botany and microbiology from the University of Georgia.

Dr. Wubah currently is a member of the Biology Department at Washington and Lee, the nation’s ninth-oldest college located in Lexington, Va. He has more than 25 years of experience in higher education, beginning his academic career as an assistant professor at Towson State University in Maryland.

“Dr. Wubah will bring to Millersville University an extraordinary range of experience in higher education,” said Board of Governors Chairwoman Cynthia D. Shapira. “His background and his commitment to student success are an ideal match for Millersville. We are confident he will provide the university the leadership it needs to continue to advance its mission of serving students, the community and the Commonwealth.”

As provost at Washington and Lee, Dr. Wubah served as the university’s chief academic officer, with oversight over two undergraduate colleges and the law school. His career also has included stints at James Madison University, Virginia Tech University and the University of Florida.

“Dr. Wubah already has had a remarkable career as a faculty member, a scholar and a university leader,” said State System Interim Chancellor Karen M. Whitney. “Millersville is an outstanding institution that continues to excel. They are a perfect match. I am certain Daniel will be a great addition to both Millersville University and the State System. I am thrilled that he will be joining our leadership team.”

Dr. Wubah said he is “profoundly honoured and excited to have the opportunity” to serve as Millersville’s next president and looks forward to arriving on campus.

“In addition to the institutional core values, I was attracted to Millersville University because of the genuine commitment to academic excellence and student success by the exceptional faculty, staff and alumni,” he said. “The university is well positioned to be a leader among its peers and I will dedicate all my efforts to work collaboratively with the State System, our Council of Trustees, our campus constituents, corporate partners and the Lancaster community to achieve this goal. Judith and I are eagerly looking forward to move to campus by July 1.”

The Board’s action today comes at the conclusion of a national search for a successor to Dr. John M. Anderson, who will retire June 30 after serving as Millersville’s president for more than five years.

“We are thrilled that Dr. Wubah was selected to become Millersville University’s next president,” said council member Ann Womble, who chaired the presidential search committee. “He received the unanimous support of our search committee and our Council of Trustees.

“The campus community is eagerly anticipating his creative and energetic leadership as we continue working toward our strategic goals. Dr. Wubah is committed to student success above all, and he will ensure that MU remains a pacesetter within the State System during the upcoming period of system redesign.”

“I commend the presidential search committee for producing a very diverse and experienced array of candidates,” said Council of Trustees Chair Michael G. Warfel. “I am confident in Dr. Wubah’s abilities to successfully lead the university upon President Anderson’s retirement.”

He served as provost at Washington and Lee from July 2013 to January 2016, then as a senior advisor to the president, assisting with the transition to a new president. As provost, he implemented a bridge plan to help address enrollment issues and assisted with the successful conclusion of a $500 million capital campaign and increased support for students doing summer undergraduate research by 35 percent.

Prior to his arrival at Washington and Lee, Dr. Wubah was deputy provost and vice president and dean for undergraduate education at Virginia Tech, where he oversaw a $426 million annual budget and nearly 180 full-time faculty and staff. In that role, he oversaw the development of the first baccalaureate program in meteorology at a college in Virginia. He also led the creation of an electronic course planner that enabled students to develop two- and four-year plans during their first year and developed new programs through the Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program to increase the number of minority undergraduate students who enter graduate and professional programs.

Previously, Dr. Wubah was associate provost for undergraduate academic affairs at the University of Florida. He was a special assistant to the president, associate dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and pre-med coordinator at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. He spearheaded the Centennial Scholars Program to provide access to students from under-represented groups. From 2002 to 2016, he directed an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates site program in Ghana that focused on ecology, ethnobotany, conservation and environmental biology. He chaired the Department of Biological Sciences for two years while on the faculty at Towson State University.

Dr. Wubah is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and he has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on how to prepare the scientific workforce of the 21st century. He has received numerous research grants totalling about $19 million over the course of his career and has received numerous awards and honours. He has co-authored two books and published fifty peer-reviewed research articles, book chapters and technical reports.

He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences panel that studied the scientific basis for estimating air emission from animal-feeding operations. He has served on and chaired several National Science Foundation review panels and National Institutes of Health study sections. He was a member of advisory boards for the NSF Biology Directorate and the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering. He was an associate editor for Mycologia, a member of the editorial board of Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal on Study Abroad and currently serves as a reviewer for the International Journal of Medical Informatics and the International Journal of Biotechnology and Recent Advances.

Dr. Wubah has served on a number of professional committees and boards, including the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the National Science Foundation. He is a member of the American Council on Education, Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Council for Advancement and Support in Education.

Millersville University of Pennsylvania has a current enrollment of about 7,700 students. It offers more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 50 graduate programs and professional certifications in the areas of science and mathematics, education and humanities and social sciences. It was founded in 1855 as the first normal School in Pennsylvania and became a university in 1983, upon the creation of the State System.

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, enrolling more than 100,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more in certificate and other career-development programs. Collectively, the 14 universities that comprise the State System offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Nearly 520,000 State System university alumni live in Pennsylvania.

The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operate branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield (Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.

Credit:www.millersville.edu