In 2016, a delegation from the Foundation, led by the Executive Vice President of the Foundation, Prof. Mariet Westermann, and the International Higher Education and Strategic Projects Director, Dr Saleem Badat, visited the University of Ghana.
The delegation held a series of meetings with the leadership of the University including the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs (ASA), Prof. Samuel Kwame Offei and the Provost of the College of Humanities, Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah. The delegation also held meetings with the Coordinator, Carnegie Corporation Funded Programmes at the University of Ghana, Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa Baidu, the Director of Finance, the Acting Head of the Institutional Research and Planning Office, and the Director of Public Affairs.
During the visit, a workshop was organized by the College of Humanities at which the Provost, Deans and Directors of the College provided accounts of capacity building initiatives for faculty and students in their various units. The team also met officials of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) and the Ministry of Education. At NCTE, officials led by the Head of Planning,
Research and Policy Development Department, Dr. Emmanuel Newman briefed the team about the growth of higher education in Ghana and the challenges relating to funding. At a debriefing meeting held at the end of the visit with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana and other officials, the delegation made a commitment for the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to provide funding for the Humanities at the University of Ghana to the tune of USD4 million over a five year period. Funding for the Humanities is meant to support postgraduate training and research capacity of its faculty.
Compared with the Sciences, the Humanities have had limited opportunities for doctoral and post doctoral training and faculty development at the University of Ghana. Funding agencies, in the past, have been more interested in the (applied) sciences and health sciences, leaving the disciplines in the humanities with limited funding opportunities to support sustained research endeavors in these disciplines. Many units do not have the full complement of faculty needed, due to the lack of suitably qualified persons to fill such posts. The challenges with academic staff have become even more acute in recent years as a result of pressures on UG staff to service newly established public and private universities on part time basis. This situation not only underpins the urgency and need for the University to embark on an extensive faculty development drive, but also presents the opportunity for UG to diversify and expand its post-graduate student output to feed the ready market for teaching and research staff in both public and private institutions.
In sum, the support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will allow the University of Ghana to maintain and reinvigorate its long-standing commitment to the humanities. It will serve as an impetus for research that explores new perspectives in the humanities, it will increase the scholarly productivity of faculty and students in the humanities, serve as a leverage for future research activities, and strengthen teaching and learning.
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