Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has been sworn into office as the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana by Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo. In a historic ceremony in the heart of the national capital, Accra, she took the Oath of Allegiance and the Vice President’s Oath.
She becomes Ghana’s first female Vice President, breaking the ceiling for gender equality.
In 2020, President John Dramani made a groundbreaking decision to nominate Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as his Vice- presidential candidate, marking it a first for a major political party in Ghana.
He repeated this choice in 2024, and with their victory, Ghana welcomed its first female Vice President. Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang was the Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa from 2018 to 2024, and the first woman to hold the position of Vice Chancellor in Ghana, leading the University of Cape Coast (UCC) from 2008 to 2012.
She served at the same University as the Head of the Department of English, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dean of the Board of Graduate Studies, Founding Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research.
She’s the immediate past President of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and Chairperson of the Africa Board, and served as Ghana’s Minister for Education from 2013 to 2017.
Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang is a Fulbright scholar twice. She holds a BA (Hons) in French and English, a Diploma in Education from the University of Cape Coast, a diploma in
Advanced Studies in French from the University of Dakar, and an MA and PhD in Literature from York University of Toronto, Canada. She is the recipient of national and international awards, notably: Officer of the Order of the Volta (for Academic Distinction) Ghana Women of Excellence Award (Education Category), and Doctor of Letters, University of Cape Coast (Honoris Causa).
Doctor of Humane Letters, Grand Valley State University, Michigan, USA (Honoris Causa), Doctor of Humane Letters, Winston Salem State University, North Carolina, USA (Honoris Causa), Doctor of Laws, University of the West Indies (Honoris Causa), Global Leadership Award, University of South Florida, USA.
She was twice recognised for Outstanding Performance in Advancing International Education, School for International Training, Vermont, USA.
She has been a member of national and international boards and committees, including: The College of Physicians and Surgeons as Eminent Citizen, the Centre for Democratic Governance
(CDD-Ghana), the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Global Advisory Council, World Learning Inc., the Editorial Board, the Harriet Tubman Series on the African Diaspora, York University, Canada.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang is a Life Fellow of the Commonwealth of Learning and a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
