Auburn University (AU), United States of America (USA) has honoured the outgoing Dean of the Centre for International Education (CIE) for her significant contributions towards strengthening the collaboration between the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and AU.
    
A citation presented to Prof. Boohene by the Director of Outreach Global, Dr. Elizabeth Ivy Essamuah-Quansah, acknowledged her extraordinary support and commitment towards AU Outreach-UCC Capacity Development and Community Outreach Programme in Ghana.

AU Collaboration with UCC

Dr. Essamuah-Quansah said AU deemed it prudent to appreciate her dedication to the collaboration as she exits office as the Dean of CIE. She said AU formalised its relationship with UCC in 2016 and since then, there had been several activities between the two institutions of which Prof. Boohene had played a pivotal role in ensuring its success. She said AU students came to Apewosika community for service learning and a reciprocal visit by two students and a lecturer from UCC to AU to learn about the poverty situation in the Alabama Blackbelt community. 

Activities of AU-UCC Collaboration

In addition, she said AU Nursing students collaborated with UCC School of Nursing to embark on a healthcare programme in Sekondi and also donated some medical items to the UCC Hospital. She further said some books had been donated to the Department of Basic Education, UCC as well as a tuition waiver for a staff of the Department to do his PhD at AU.
“All these activities will not have been accomplished without the dynamic leadership of Prof. Boohene,” she stressed.

Appreciation

Responding, Prof. Boohene, thanked AU especially, the Vice President of Outreach Dr. Royrickers Cook and Dr. Essamuah-Quansah for the excellent working relationship. “I thought I was discharging my duties but didn’t expect this surprise honour from Auburn University,” she said.  She indicated that “When you build networks and relationship, you go beyond that to ensure that things work the way it is supposed to be”.  She was confident that her successor would also deepen the bond of friendship between UCC and AU.

Strengthening the Collaboration  

                                 
Prof. Kwaku Boakye who will be taking over from Prof. Boohene on August 1, 2019, assured that he would not depart from the good works of his predecessor but work towards enhancing the collaboration between UCC and AU. “I take consolation from the fact that my sister will be there to offer the needed direction to help me succeed in raising the status of this flagship collaboration, “he noted.

UCC Must Give Recognition to Past Office Holders

The immediate past Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro, who chaired the ceremony said he was overwhelmed by the gesture of AU. “For a collaborator to think about the transition of a partner is very laudable,” he noted.

Prof. Oduro urged the University to work towards appreciating office holders whose term of office expires through such gestures. “People complete their term or tenure of office and there’s no significant thing to show that he/she once occupied that office,” he added. He urged the Office of the Registrar to institute a reward scheme in recognition of office holders in the University “ When people know that their services will be recognised after their term of office, they will go the extra mile to contribute towards the development of the University,”  he stressed..

The former Pro Vice-Chancellor commended Prof. Boohene for identifying a potential person to succeed him. “There should be a conscious effort to have a succession plan to prepare an equally competent individual to take over from us,” he recommended

Prof. Oduro thanked AU for staying committed to the collaboration and indicating its willingness to extend the scope to cover other departments in the University. “I am aware Auburn is making effort to embark on joint projects by the Campus Broadcasting Services, Centre for Africa and International Studies and the Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation. AU will also offer advisory services on the KIA Assembling Plant Project in UCC” he indicated.

UCC-AU Collaboration is a Blessing

The outgoing Head of Basic Education Department, Dr. Dickson Hippolyt Angbing, said the Department had benefitted tremendously from the UCC-AU collaboration. He was hopeful that his successor would continue to offer the necessary support to strengthen the collaboration. He appealed to Dr. Essamuah-Quansah to assist the only female lecturer in the Department scholarship to pursue a PhD programme in AU.

Summer Camp Programme

A Research Fellow at the Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA), Dr. Michael Boakye-Yiadom, said the Institute was part of the initial engagement. He said students and faculty who witnessed the summer camp in AU were impressed about the programme and assured that plans were in place to organise a similar one in Cape Coast.