Kumasi, Aug. 02, GNA – President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the
Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, have congratulated Professor Mrs.
Rita Akosua Dickson on her investiture as the 11th Vice-Chancellor of
the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The newly-invested Vice-Chancellor is the first female to occupy that
prestigious position in the history of Ghana’s foremost science and
technology educational institution.
She takes over from Prof. Kwasi Obiri-Danso, whose term of office
officially, ended July 31, this year.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, addressing the gathering at
the investiture, held at the Great Hall, Kumasi, said the University
community should rally behind the new Vice-Chancellor.
She ought to be given the needed support and cooperation to realize
the overall vision and mission of KNUST.
The President said the University had an important role to play in
the area of science and technology, which had become the driving
force behind successful nations.
“The 21st Century is going to be dominated by science and
technology,” President Akufo-Addo noted, and asked the new
Vice-Chancellor to be up to the task in leading the University to come out
with cutting-edge research findings and innovative ideas in order to
realise Ghana’s development agenda.
The University, he said, would be given the requisite support by
the government to enhance research work, technology transfer and the
training 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, had
come as a motivation to women.
“Akosua, you cannot forget your great-great-grandmother, the famous
Yaa Asantewaa.
“Always remember, you share the same ancestral blood and I see in
you, the Yaa Asantewaa of KNUST,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu II remarked.
The Chancellor asked the new Vice-Chancellor to strive to bring her
managerial and academic capabilities to bear for sustainable growth of
the University.
She should pursue the University’s Strategic « Plan 2K25 » with
seriousness to enable the authorities achieve their aims and
objectives.
The Asantehene asked Prof. Akosua Dickson to endeavour to consider
suggestions put across by the University community, saying she should
bring all stakeholders on board in the discharge of her duties.
Prof. (Mrs) Akosua Dickson, a product of the Wesley Girls’ High
School, Cape Coast, obtained her first degree in Pharmacy at the
KNUST.
She went on to pursue graduate studies leading to the award of Master
of Pharmacy degree in Pharmacognosy in 1999, and was appointed
lecturer at the University in 2000.
Her academic endeavours enabled her to study for a Doctor of
Philosophy degree at Kings’ College, University of London, United
Kingdom (UK).
She returned to teaching and research at KNUST in 2007 and got
promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer in 2009, and further to
Associate Professor of Pharmacognosy in 2014.
Prior to her appointment, Prof. Akosua Dickson served as the Pro
Vice-Chancellor.
