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 the 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 release 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 release 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 release said she previously served as the Head of the Department of Linguistics (2013 – 2014) and had participated in the governance of the University of Ghana through her service on several statutory and ad hoc boards and committees.

Professor Amfo is a professor of Linguistics and obtained both her PhD and MPhil degrees from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Her bachelor’s degree in French and Linguistics is from the University of Ghana.

Sh has a post-graduate certificate in Administration and Management from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and has received additional training in higher education management and leadership from Harvard Business School, University of Applied Sciences, Germany, and INSEAD, France.

She is a past student of Holy Child School (O’Level) and Archbishop Porter’s Girls Secondary School (A’Level).

Professor Amfo’s career in academia started in 2001 as a Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics after her Master’s degree.

In 2007, the same year, she obtained her PhD degree and was promoted Senior Lecturer.

She became Associate Professor in 2011, and Professor in 2017.

Professor Amfo has acquired extensive multi-cultural experience through various professional engagements in twenty countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.

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.

Professor Amfo’s professional expertise and leadership has been recognised by her peers.

She serves 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).

She is 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).

She is a pioneer fellow, senior scholar, mentor, and assessor of the African Humanities Programme of the American Council of Learned Societies.

She is 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.

She is 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.

She is married with three children.