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 the 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.
