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Out-going USAID Mission Director Confers with Pro-Vice-Chancellor

30 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

Mr. Andrew Karas, the out-going United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Mission Director for Ghana, has paid a courtesy call on the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro. He noted that the purpose of his visit to the Central Region was to inspect projects initiated by USAID and decided to call on the University to also check on the projects initiated by the Mission at the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Mr. Karas, who has been called home after a four-year duty tour to Ghana, indicated that USAID had initiated many developmental projects in the country, especially in the areas of agriculture, governance, water and sanitation, economic growth, education, and health. He expressed joy at the warm reception accorded him and described University of Cape Coast (UCC) as the leading institution in Ghana. “I know that UCC is a leading institution in Ghana for many reasons especially in the areas of fisheries, education, among others, and USAID is proud of that,” he noted. For his part, Prof. George K.T. Oduro, expressed gratitude to USAID/Ghana for its continued development assistance in Ghana, while describing the partnership between USAID and UCC as ‘flashy’. He stressed that the partnership had increased the visibility of the University and gave assurance that the University would wish to renew the agreement at the end of the project to deepen the partnership. Prof. Oduro commended Mr. Andrew Karas for his hard work in the country. He expressed optimism that the Mission Director would be good ambassador of the University wherever he goes and would never forget Ghana and UCC. “…You will be an ambassador to the University of Cape Coast wherever you go”, he said.

UCC will Continue to Make Quality Graduate Education a Priority- Prof. Ampiah

30 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

“As management, we are set on a mission to make UCC synonymous with higher quality graduate education in the country and beyond”. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah stated this during the 12th Session of the 49th Congregation for the School of Graduate Studies. A total of 2,214 students were presented with various postgraduate degrees, which included 51 Ph.Ds. Addressing the graduands, the Chancellor of UCC, Sir Dr. Sam Esson Jonah said the School of Graduate Studies continues to enhance the intellectual life of the University by enabling graduate professional students to undertake scholarly study and advanced research and to prepare them for professional work. “It is my conviction that the School of Graduate Studies will continue to foster a conducive environment that enables critical, curious, creative, and courageous thinkers, who work both independently and collaboratively, to find answers to significant development challenges confronting the nation.” Dr. Jonah called on the School to be guided by the core values of integrity, dependability, creativity, and innovation and work even harder to position graduate education more centrally and visibly within the University. The Chancellor said, for tertiary institutions to successfully fulfill their functions in the 21st century, they needed to respond effectively to changing needs and trends in education as well as changing information and communication technologies. He told the graduands that more innovative ways of doing business were emerging, and therefore, they should endeavour to be among the “21st century think tanks who engineer such progress”. He reminded them that the University has empowered them with generic and discipline-specific research knowledge and skills, employment-related skills and competencies and were expected to impart positively on their respective communities. “I would also like to recommend that you consider the agriculture sector as you think of establishing yourselves. It is one area Ghanaians have failed to invest into on full scale”, Dr. Jonah emphasised. Presenting his address, the Vice-Chancellor said the school has over the years and in 2015/16 in particular, sought to ensure relevance of graduate programmes to socio-economic and technology development in Ghana and the West African sub-region. “Improved graduate programmes and policies as well as facilities for more effective teaching, research and community engagement have been our stock-in-trade to transform significantly our knowledge base, curricula and mode of delivery”, he stated. The Vice-Chancellor reported that enrollment saw a slight expansion and included students from the sub-region adding “A curious feature of the total enrollment was a shift in numbers from our regular mode to sandwich and distance modes. This signal the need to reposition ourselves as a University to meet the shift in demand for graduate education”. Prof. Ampiah said the impressive statistics of postgraduates presented, reflected hard work and diligence on the part of faculty, students and supporting staff. He announced that work was progressing sturdily on the construction of the new School of Graduate Studies Building and indicated that it would solve the problem of inadequate office space for staff and also provide the needed environment for graduate students upon its completion. The ceremony also witnessed the presentation of awards to deserving graduands and their supervisors. Among the graduates who received award for outstanding research were Dr. Jerry Opoku-Ansah-Ph.D (Physics), Prof. Eric Mensah-Ph.D (Curriculum and Teaching), Dr. Sebastian Eliason-Ph. D (Population and Health) and Dr. Emmanuel Kwasi Abu-Ph. D (Parasitology). The following supervisors; Prof. Joseph K. Mintah, Rev. Prof. Seth Asare-Danso, Prof. Akwasi Kumi-Kyereme and Prof. Kofi Awusabo-Asare were honoured. Others were Prof. Moses Jojo Eghan, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong and Dr. Irene Ayi. Two hardworking staff of the School of Graduate Studies, Mrs. Gifty Dzansi and Mr. Kwesi Anhwere were also honoured at the ceremony.

Administration

UCC will Continue to Make Quality Graduate Education a Priority- Prof. Ampiah

30 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

“As management, we are set on a mission to make UCC synonymous with higher quality graduate education in the country and beyond”. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah stated this during the 12th Session of the 49th Congregation for the School of Graduate Studies. A total of 2,214 students were presented with various postgraduate degrees, which included 51 Ph.Ds. Addressing the graduands, the Chancellor of UCC, Sir Dr. Sam Esson Jonah said the School of Graduate Studies continues to enhance the intellectual life of the University by enabling graduate professional students to undertake scholarly study and advanced research and to prepare them for professional work. “It is my conviction that the School of Graduate Studies will continue to foster a conducive environment that enables critical, curious, creative, and courageous thinkers, who work both independently and collaboratively, to find answers to significant development challenges confronting the nation.” Dr. Jonah called on the School to be guided by the core values of integrity, dependability, creativity, and innovation and work even harder to position graduate education more centrally and visibly within the University. The Chancellor said, for tertiary institutions to successfully fulfill their functions in the 21st century, they needed to respond effectively to changing needs and trends in education as well as changing information and communication technologies. He told the graduands that more innovative ways of doing business were emerging, and therefore, they should endeavour to be among the “21st century think tanks who engineer such progress”. He reminded them that the University has empowered them with generic and discipline-specific research knowledge and skills, employment-related skills and competencies and were expected to impart positively on their respective communities. “I would also like to recommend that you consider the agriculture sector as you think of establishing yourselves. It is one area Ghanaians have failed to invest into on full scale”, Dr. Jonah emphasised. Presenting his address, the Vice-Chancellor said the school has over the years and in 2015/16 in particular, sought to ensure relevance of graduate programmes to socio-economic and technology development in Ghana and the West African sub-region. “Improved graduate programmes and policies as well as facilities for more effective teaching, research and community engagement have been our stock-in-trade to transform significantly our knowledge base, curricula and mode of delivery”, he stated. The Vice-Chancellor reported that enrollment saw a slight expansion and included students from the sub-region adding “A curious feature of the total enrollment was a shift in numbers from our regular mode to sandwich and distance modes. This signal the need to reposition ourselves as a University to meet the shift in demand for graduate education”. Prof. Ampiah said the impressive statistics of postgraduates presented, reflected hard work and diligence on the part of faculty, students and supporting staff. He announced that work was progressing sturdily on the construction of the new School of Graduate Studies Building and indicated that it would solve the problem of inadequate office space for staff and also provide the needed environment for graduate students upon its completion. The ceremony also witnessed the presentation of awards to deserving graduands and their supervisors. Among the graduates who received award for outstanding research were Dr. Jerry Opoku-Ansah-Ph.D (Physics), Prof. Eric Mensah-Ph.D (Curriculum and Teaching), Dr. Sebastian Eliason-Ph. D (Population and Health) and Dr. Emmanuel Kwasi Abu-Ph. D (Parasitology). The following supervisors; Prof. Joseph K. Mintah, Rev. Prof. Seth Asare-Danso, Prof. Akwasi Kumi-Kyereme and Prof. Kofi Awusabo-Asare were honoured. Others were Prof. Moses Jojo Eghan, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong and Dr. Irene Ayi. Two hardworking staff of the School of Graduate Studies, Mrs. Gifty Dzansi and Mr. Kwesi Anhwere were also honoured at the ceremony.  

Institute of Education Honours 10 Hardworking Students from Colleges of Education

30 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

The Institute of Education has honoured 10 students from the Colleges of Education who excelled in the 2015/16 academic year. Dubbed “6th Excellence Awards Ceremony”, the awardees were selected from a total of 154 students of the 46 Teacher Training Colleges of Education in Ghana who had first class. Ms. Stephanie Tetteh Quansuwaa, from Tamale College of Education, who graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.932 in Diploma in Basic Education, was adjudged the National Best Graduating Student. For her prize, she received a citation, laptop, modem, GH¢ 2,000.OO. and a scholarship to pursue post diploma programme in the University. The nine other awardees, 8 males and a female, received a citation, laptop and GH¢ 1,000 each. Speaking on the theme “Enhancing Basic Education through Quality Professional Teacher Training”, the President of the Trinity Theological Seminary, Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, underscored the need for professional teachers to hone their skills and competencies in order for them to avoid becoming rusty. To this end, he called for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for all professional teachers to be abreast of the changing trends in the profession. Rev. Prof. Mante called on teachers to be role models in their communities and also suggested to authorities in the education sector to develop a course on ethics of teaching or professionalism in teaching to help teachers discharge their duties well. He was of the view that menial jobs executed by trainee teachers at college help them to fit well in the society. “After we’ve thought them the academic subjects, let us teach our teachers how to take care of their lives and that sometimes include: learning how to scrub the bathroom, dressing properly, walking properly, talking properly, eating properly”, Prof. Mante said. He used the occasion to encourage the awardees to strive for excellence in all their endeavours and urged them to aim high like the proverbial eagle. The Director of the Institute, Prof. Frederick Ocansey, congratulated the awardees on their relentless efforts, perseverance and dedication to achieve academic excellence. He noted that the award ceremony was to help cultivate the creation of a “Culture of Excellence” among students in the colleges of education to work hard for academic excellence. He called on the public, especially students, to disabuse their minds of the perception that the Institute “is too rigid and difficult to please or satisfy in students’ examination performance.” The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, thanked both principals and tutors for shaping the lives of the awardees to achieve that enviable academic height and recognition. The Provost of the College of Education, Prof. Magnus Wilmot, who chaired the function, challenged female students to strive hard to sweep more awards at the next ceremony, stressing that “Next year, if it’s not 50% -50%, it should be about 70% women and 30% men.”

Graduands Urged to Market Programmes of UCC

29 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

The Provost of the College of Distance Education (CoDE), Prof. Isaac Galyuon, has urged graduands of the College to market the academic programmes run by the University of Cape Coast (UCC). “If the programme will be marketed, you are our marketers. It’s your responsibility as an alumnus to market the University”, he said. Prof. Galyuon made these statements at a reception held for graduands of the College who had completed various Master’s degree in the University through the distance mode. In all, 961 graduands from CoDE graduated with Master of Arts, Master of Education and Master of Business Administration degrees. The Provost called on the graduands to collaborate with the authorities of the College so as to develop the programmes run by the College in order to attract more students. He used the occasion to announce the procurement of e-learning materials by the College to facilitate teaching and learning at all its approved study centres. Prof. Galyuon charged them to be good ambassadors of the University so as to consolidate the enviable image of the University. The Head of Department of Business Studies at CoDE, Dr. Anokye Mohammed Adam, reminded the graduands that they had acquired the requisite practical and theoretical knowledge to build on their capacities. He, therefore, urged them to use the knowledge gained from their studies to impact positively at their respective organisations. The graduands, for their part, thanked the College for giving them the opportunity to upgrade themselves academically and assured the Provost that they would be good ambassadors of the University wherever they found themselves. Present at the function were the Head of Department of Science and Mathematics Education, Prof. John Nelson Buah; the Head of Department of Education Studies, Prof. Emmanuel K. Gyimah and the Ag. College Registrar, Mr. Opoku Oku Afari.  

UCC Officials Visit Emmanuel Quarshie at 37 Military Hospital

28 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

A delegation from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) was at the 37 Military Hospital to visit Emmanuel Quarshie, a level 100 student who was stabbed during the vandalism that recently happened at Oguaa Hall. The team which was led by the Dean of Student Affairs, Prof Koawo Edjah included the Director of University Health Services, Dr. Evans Ekanem and the Administrator of UCC Hospital, Mr. Atta Yeboah-Sarpong. Briefing the delegation on the health status of Emmanuel Quarshie, the Medical Officer in-charge of the Intensive Care Unit of 37 Hospital, Colonel G. A. Appiah, said Emmanuel was in a critical condition but the medical officers were doing everything possible to restore his health. He indicated that they had been able to prevent the spread of infections around the spinal cord. He,therefore, said that they would be monitoring his condition for another two weeks before another Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan would be taken. He said it was likely that Emmanuel would be discharged after the MRI scan since none of his spinal cord was broken except the wound at the portion where he was stabbed. The delegation later met Emmanuel’s parents and other relatives and assured them that the University would bear the medical bills. They also assured them that the police were investigating the incident to bring the perpetrators to book. The father of Emmanuel, Mr. Moses Tetteh Quarshie, said the entire family was saddened by the condition of their son but thanked the University authorities for the visit. In a related development, the Dean of Student Affairs, Prof Kwoaw Edjah, has called on the Head of Security at the University of Ghana, Mr. George Amofah Forkuo, to seek his assistance and cooperation during investigations, since some students from the Commonwealth Hall were involved in the incidence. Mr. Amofah said he was ready to cooperate with the UCC to find the culprits involved in the vandalism at Oguaa Hall. He called for an inter-university dialogue to handle security on the various campuses in Ghana.

School of Biological Sciences Holds 3rd K. N. Eyeson Lecture

28 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

The School of Biological Sciences under the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences has held the 3rd Annual K. N. Eyeson Lecture. Instituted in 2015, the lecture was to honour Emeritus Prof. Kojo Ndzeba Eyeson for his immeasurable contributions to the development of the School and the University. This year’s lecture was on theme “Towards Effective Social, Educational, Environmental and Health Standards in Ghana”. Addressing the gathering, an Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario, Prof. Isaac Luginaah, bemoaned the rising spate of which academic institutions in the country were placing emphasis on humanities to the detriment of science education. “We cannot compete with the global world with a declining science”, he said, adding that “any developed nation thrives on science”. Prof. Luginaah, who is also the Canada Research Chair in Health Geography, condemned illegal mining, popularly known as “galamsey”, saying such activity was destroying the environment and water bodies and cautioned that if care was not taken to arrest the situation, the country would soon import water from neighbouring Burkina Faso. He called on Ghanaians to develop critical minds to speed up the development of the country. He appealed to the University management to motivate researchers to enhance their research capacities for the University, in particular, and the nation, at large. For his part, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, announced that this year (2017), the University would organize Senior Citizens’ Day to honour all pensioners of the University for their remarkable contributions towards the development of the University during their heyday. The announcement was in response to an earlier appeal made by Emeritus Prof. Kojo Ndzeba Eyeson to have such a Day instituted to honour retirees of the University. The move, according to Prof. Ampiah, would also afford the retirees opportunity to interact with the management of the University and to make them feel at home. He challenged faculty members at the School of Biological Sciences to pool their resources to assist the welfare of all pensioners who passed through the School. “When people are alive, we should remember them; we should support them; and in so doing others will see that it pays to work hard”, said Prof. Ampiah, who chaired the event. Emeritus Prof. K.N Eyeson attended the St. Monica’s School (1942-44) Government Boys’ School (1952-51), Mfantseman School (1952-57) for his ‘O’ Level and ‘A’ Level examinations all in Cape Coast, and studied for the B.Sc. Honours degree in Zoology (1958-62) at the University of Ghana. He proceeded to the University of Leeds and between 1965 and 1968, obtained a PhD in Zoology, specializing in Comparative Endocrinology. Emeritus Prof. K. N. Eyeson had gone through all the gamut of teaching in the University of Cape Coast: he was appointed Assistant Lecturer by the University in 1963, he was promoted to Lecturer (in 1965) and then a Senior Lecturer in 1972. By dint of hard work, he was promoted again to the rank of Associate Professor in 1978 and ultimately to Professor of Zoology in 1988.

Reckon Medical Ghana Limited Supports Department of Optometry

28 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

The Director of Reckon Medical Ghana Limited, Dr. Kwame Oben-Nyarko, has donated eye equipment worth thousands of Ghana Cedis to the Department of Optometry. Items donated include Trial lens set, Ophthalmoscope, Near Chart, LED illuminated Distance Chart and Examination Loupe. Presenting the items, Dr. Oben-Nyarko, said the essence of the donation was to assist the Department to join the fight against global blindness. He urged them to take good care of the equipment. Receiving the items, the Dean of the School of Allied Sciences, Prof. Moses Eghan, expressed gratitude to Dr. Oben-Nyarko for the assistance. He assured the donor that the equipment would be put to good use. Prof. Eghan called on other public-spirited individuals and organisations to support the Department to deal effectively with all eye conditions so as to avoid preventable blindness. Present at the ceremony were a cross-section of lecturers and students of the Department.

UCC Graduates More Females through Sandwich Programme

26 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

The University has held the 11th Session of the 49th congregation for the Institute of Education where a total of 1, 899 students were graduated. The congregation recorded 54% female students graduating out of the total number of students who pursued the Bachelor of Education (Basic Education) and (Early Childhood) through the sandwich mode and 45% males. They were from the St. Louis College of Education, Kumasi, St. Joseph College of Education, Bechem, SDA College of Education, Koforidua, St. Teresa’s College of Education, Hohoe, and the Holy Child College of Education, Sekondi centres. Addressing the graduands, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, said the Institute would continue to train tutors of colleges to build on their research capacity and also partner them in undertaking research in teacher education and professional development. Prof. Ampiah announced that the University would soon migrate the records of all students of the Institute onto the University of Cape Coast Online Students Information System (UCCOSIS) with that of the Institute’s Learning Management System (LSM). “With this migration, learning will be individualized since each student will have a personal portal to access examination results and other information related to academic work. The migration will also help to eliminate avoidable errors and duplications”, the Vice-Chancellor said. According to the Vice-Chancellor, plans were underway to link the Institute to international research agencies and institutions, as well as development partners that provide funding for research. “These collaborations and linkages we believe will help to project the image of the Institute as a leading teacher education centre in the Sub-Sahara Africa”, he added. Prof. Ampiah said there were plans to institute a periodic research on issues in basic education, pre-service and in-service training to inform policy dialogue on improving education quality in Ghana. He advised the graduands to step out of their comfort zone in order to bring the needed change to their communities. “You will never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone: change begins at the end of your comfort zone. I charge you to step out and show the world what you are made of. People may try to discourage and belittle you, but always stand bold and say to yourself YES I CAN”, he advised. Belinda Narkuor, from the St. Teresa’s College of Education Centre at Hohoe, emerged as the best graduating student with the CGPA of 3.95. She took away a laptop computer and an amount of GH¢ 800.

School of Nursing and Midwifery bids farewell to GVSU Team

26 Mar, 2017 By louis Mensah

The School of Nursing and Midwifery has organised a dinner for both faculty members and students from the Kirkhof College of Nursing, Grand Valley State University (GVSU), USA. The visiting students and faculty were in Ghana for an outreach programme to familiarise themselves with the Ghanaian healthcare systems. The collaboration between the Department of Nursing and Midwifery and the GVSU Public Health Nursing which started in 2013 is aimed at establishing and improving partnership with both local and international collaborators in the area of Public Health. Speaking at the dinner, the Head of the delegation of GVSU, Prof. Sylvia Mapepe, commended Ghana for the quality of healthcare system and its impact on public health. She thanked management, staff and students, particularly School of Nursing and Midwifery, for the cordial and warm hospitality accorded the delegation. Prof. Mapepe noted that the partnership between GVSU and UCC was a life-time programme, adding, "My desire for seeking partnership with UCC to gain international knowledge, skills and information about caring for Global citizens for my students has been fruitful ". For his part, the Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Prof. Alex Pappoe, expressed gratitude to the delegation for the visit. Prof. Pappoe urged both faculty and students of GVSU to use the knowledge acquired through their studies in Ghana to benefit society. Sharing her experience of the outreach programme, a Doctor of Nursing Practice, Laura Hall, lauded Ghanaian nurses in the various community healthcare centers for their professionalism and care for their patients. A Master of Science in Nursing student, Danielle Hartig, also observed that nurses in Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Zones were very open and courteous to their patients. Also sharing her observation, a Traditional Nursing student, Kaylee Case, indicated that she was overwhelmed by the support of local authorities in the communities for helping to promote the health needs of people in their area. The School of Nursing and Midwifery presented souvenirs to their visitors, who also reciprocated the kind gesture by donating assorted books and GVSU branded souvenirs to the School.

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