23 New UG Readers Launched

Copies of the launched Readers       

23 new University of Ghana Readers have been launched by the Chairman of the University Council, Hon. Justice Dr. Samuel Kofi Date-Bah at a ceremony held at the Great Hall of the University. The launch follows a similar one held in November last year, which saw the outdooring of 6 Readers, as part of the 65th Anniversary celebrations of the University of Ghana. The Readers are discipline specific publications that reflect the history and development of the various units of the University over the years, as well as past research activities.

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Hon. Justice Date-Bah

Hon. Justice Date-Bah lauded Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey for the Readers initiative and recognized the efforts of the various teams that worked on the publications. He opined that the Readers should be viewed as publications needed to restore the joy of reading and writing in Ghana, adding that reading and writing constitute the mode of communication of ideas needed to transform societies.

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Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, Chairman for the event

Prof. Aryeetey expressed his gratitude to the Coordinator of the project and the entire team. He announced that following the success of the project, two other initiatives will be undertaken. The first project which he titled ‘operation top tier journals’, requires that Coordinators assist Departments identify top tier Journals. Under this project young faculty will be mentored through workshops and training programmes to equip them with skills they need to publish in the identified Journals. The second project will be the introduction of discipline specific text books for use by students in the various departments.

Prof. Aryeetey expressed optimism that with these projects, the University will be seen as an institution that is growing in research and excellence.

Speaking on behalf of the Arts team, Prof. Nana Aba Amfo, head of the Department of Linguistics, recounted the experiences she and her colleagues had while working on the project. She announced that her Department has already started with the process of developing textbooks.

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Prof. Kofi A. Osei

Prof. Kofi A. Osei, who represented the Business group noted that since the idea of Readers is new in the University, he and his group had to visit libraries on campus to sample readers from other Institutions. He described the experience as worthwhile and noted that he is enthusiastic in continuing the project.

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Prof. Benjamin Kankpeyeng

On behalf of the Social Sciences group, Prof. Benjamin Kankpeyeng, Head of the Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies shared similar experiences as his colleagues. He noted that the project provided an opportunity for the team to work with some International Scholars, which helped in enhancing the work of the group.

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Prof. Jennifer Welbeck

Prof. Jennifer Welbeck, representing the Sciences, said the first launch of the readers in November encouraged her team members to work extra hard to produce an additional reader. She expressed gratitude to all who assisted in ensuring that the publications were completed.

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Prof. Kofi Anyidoho

Earlier in the programme an overview of the Readers was presented by Prof. Kofi Anyidoho.

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Prof. Emerita Mary Esther Dakubu, Coordinator of the Readers Project

The Coordinator of the Readers Project, Prof. Emerita Mary Esther Dakubu, was grateful to all who contributed to the publications and later introduced the various editors.

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Ms. Akosua Ofori-Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of Sub-Saharan Publishers

A representative of the Publishers, Ms. Akosua Ofori-Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of Sub-Saharan Publishers, expressed her joy at being part of the project. She noted that the UG Readers project is an honnour to the book publishing industry in Ghana.

With the launch of these additional Readers, the University of Ghana is well on its way to becoming a research institution as it continues to contribute to knowledge in the various disciplines taught at Ghana’s premier University.

Present at the event were members of the University and Alumni Councils, Pro- Vice-Chancellors, Prof. Kweku Osam and Prof. John Gyapong, Editors and contributors to the Readers, members of the University community and the general public.