The University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) has conferred an honourary doctorate degrees on the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the former Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood and the former Speaker of Parliament, Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo at its 15th Special Congregation held yesterday in Accra.
The honourary awards were in recognition of the invaluable contributions of the three distinguished Ghanaians to the development of the country.
Mrs Akufo-Addo was honoured for her exceptional visionary ideas and lifetime engagements which has immensely contributed to the development of the general well-being of women and children’s health and education in society.
Justice Bamford-Addo was honoured for her “professional and remarkable service in the public service in Ghana as the pacesetter in both the judiciary and legislature.
She notably contributed to the “drafting of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana” and her “achievements paved the way for a new dawn of women justices in Ghana’s Supreme Court.”
Justice Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood on her part, was recognised for her “excellence spanning decades of unbroken professional and public service.
Her citation said as the first female Chief Justice, she “laid a strong foundation for the judiciary of Ghana due to her niche expertise in Alternative Dispute Resolution.”
In all 5,156 students were graduated and they comprised 1,146 post graduate, 3,106 undergraduates and 904 diploma students.
Delivering the acceptance speech on behalf of her two other colleagues, Mrs Akufo-Addo said it was an absolute honour to be associated with the UPSA.
She noted that as the oldest Ghanaian, human resource development institution, in professional Accountancy and Management, the UPSA had produced prominent leaders both here and abroad.
Today, I pay homage to the founders, past and present leaders of this noble institution, for their foresight and dedication to the entrenchment of UPSA as a renowned centre of excellence.
Mrs Akufo-Addo said she had been involved with women and children all her life, however this took a particular turn in 2005, when she helped to establish the Infanta Malaria Prevention Foundation with some remarkable women, to assist efforts to eradicate malaria, especially in children and pregnant women.
“In 2017, when I became First Lady, I established the Rebecca Foundation to support the well-being of women and children in the areas of health, education and women’s economic empowerment.
The Vice Chancellor of the UPSA, Reverend Professor Abednego Amartey on his part, said the UPSA pride itself on providing its students with practical, applied education that augmented the theory in “our textbooks.”
He said the UPSA recognised that in addition to a degree, it was important to provide their students with the tools necessary to stand head and shoulders above the rest.
“We do that by inspiring and encouraging our students to embrace self-discovery, critical thinking and continuous learning; offering important opportunities that open doors and valuable networking opportunities and industry partnerships for our students,” he emphasised.
Rev. Prof. Amartey said “this, we believe, is important to ensure that we produce graduates who return to their places of work, ready to expand their contribution to building our dear country Ghana.”
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
