The University of Cape Coast (UCC) Chapter of the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) has held a dialogue to discuss the contribution of the administrative and professional cadres towards expanding the frontiers of higher education in Ghana.

The event was on the theme: “UCC@60: Expanding the Frontiers of Higher Education: The Contribution of Administrative and Professional Cadres." 

The programme formed part of activities marking the 60th anniversary of UCC. 

The Acting Registrar of the Presbyterian University of Ghana, Dr. Emmanuel Agyenim-Boateng, stressed the need for university administrators to hone their professional skills to surmount emerging challenges in the 21st century administration. 

That, he added, would enable administrators to be more efficient and proficient to expand the frontiers of education in Ghana.

Acting Registrar of the Presbyterian University of Ghana, Dr. Emmanuel Agyenim-Boateng

Dr. Agyenim Boateng urged administrators to be ready to build their professional capacities to constantly remain relevant in the profession so as to become "masters in managing the affairs of the university in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty." 

The Registrar urged administrators to attend training programmes and workshops to equip themselves with knowledge in modern university administration trends to better perform their duties. 

In view of that, he recommended what he described as four (4) "Cs" of soft skills to the administrators, explaining that the administrator must develop soft skills in critical thinking, creativity, communications and collaboration, or collaborative skills.

Dr. Agyenim-Boateng acknowledged the fact that the fourth industrial revolution had become necessary for university administrators to put premium on talent identification skills to deal head-on with issues in the foreseeable future that would face the university. He encouraged university administrators to be dedicated and committed to their work to ensure they realized the mission and vision of the university.

Mr. Jeff Teye Emmanuel Onyame, Registrar of UCC

Chairing the function, the Registrar of UCC, Mr. Jeff Teye Emmanuel Onyame, in a brief remark, stated that it was time the contribution of both administrative and professional cadres of UCC achieved recognition. 

He, therefore, hailed GAUA-UCC for putting up the programme to catalogue the enormous contributions of administrators and professional cadres to UCC. 

President of GAUA-UCC, Felix Adu-Poku, welcoming participants, expressed gratitude to GAUA-UCC members and called for support for the new executives, urging members to take active part in the UCC@60 programmes.

As part of the event, six (6) discussants deliberated on the theme.

The discussants included Mr. Caxton Oduro-Donkor, a former Director of Finance-UCC; Dr. Beth Offei Awuku, GAUA National President and Dr. Joe Kizzie Hayford, Deputy Director, Pharmaceutical Services-UCC. 

The rest were Mr. Anthony Atta-Bosompem (Arc.), Acting Deputy Director of Directorate of Physical Development and Estate Management-UCC; Mrs. Alberta Yaa Graham, Director of Consular and General Services-UCC, and Mr. Emmanuel Paul Owusu, Director of Internal Audit-UCC.

Some GAUA-UCC members at the function

They all reiterated the fact that university administrators and professional cadres’ contributions to the forward match of the University could not be overemphasized. 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC