The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) has launched activities marking its 40th anniversary celebration at the campus of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
As part of the anniversary celebration, a workshop was held on the theme ‘Professional Development in the 21st century university administration’ as well as a mini congress with the aim of strategising on how to advance the course of the association.
The 40th anniversary of GAUA would be climaxed next year on the theme: ‘Ghana Association of University Administrators at 40: prospects and challenges for the 21st century university administrator’.
The launching was attended by participants from the 10 public universities namely, Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ); Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi; University of Cape Coast (UCC); the University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale and the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).
The rest included University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), Sunyani; University of Ghana, Legon; University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Sokode; University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa and the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Accra.
The Registrar of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Mrs Mildred Asmah, who was the guest speaker, urged members of the association to take up the global challenge in enhancing effective academic delivery, saying, “The real challenge of reflecting in action and on action is critical”.
Mrs Asmah, who later launched the 40th anniversary, expressed the need for university administrators to rededicate themselves in the execution of new ideas that would promote their respective universities.
“It is also evident that today’s world of management is experiencing a paradigm shift, the nature of management is caught up in waves of turbulence from which more responsive, more responsible form of management is emerging,” she said.
Mrs Asmah also said that higher education environment was changing rapidly and radically and that the old ways of managing no longer works, adding, “Everyone must change”.
Change is a constant feature in higher education administration, Mrs Asmah stated and admonished members to adopt a learning-based approach to planning and administration in order to cope with uncertainty and complexity that comes with the job.
The Pro Vice Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Dora Edu-Buandoh, in her remarks, acknowledged the roles that university administrators play in policy making and decision taking in the country’s universities, saying, “over the years GAUA have proved to be very supportive in the management and successful running of the affairs of our universities”.
The career development workshop organised as part of the programme, she said, would enhance the skills of members in the discharge of their duties as well as increasing their confidence in being proactive and innovative in what they do.
The National President of GAUA, Kwabena Yeboah Jnr., in his address, urged all branches of the association to organise continuous professional development workshops dealing with the emerging sub-themes and issues from the main theme by the end of this year.
He noted that the workshops had become critical due to contemporary issues and challenging trends confronting educational management and administration in the 21st century.
FROM DAVID O. YARBOI-TETTEH, CAPE COAST
