Prof Nana Aba Appiah Amfo
Vice Chancellor
Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, PhD, FGA, is the (first female) Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana. She is a Professor of Linguistics and an experienced university administrator, with over 21 years’ experience in the higher education sector.
Professor Amfo has built her experience in governance through attendance of formal management and leadership programs as well as on the job training. She brings a lot of innovation and resourcefulness to her leadership positions and is adept at change management. As Vice-Chancellor, she’s leading her university to uptake technology in all its operations, while keeping people as the focus. As part of the execution of her vision, she launched a seven-million-dollar digitalization program to enhance the experience of the University’s students, faculty and staff.
Professor Amfo previously served as the Pro Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for Academic and Student Affairs, the Dean of the School of Languages, and the Head of the Department of Linguistics, of the same university. Her masters and PhD degrees, both in linguistics, are from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and her Bachelors in French and Linguistics is from the University of Ghana.
She is a member of many prestigious societies and organizations such as the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Commonwealth Professionals Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, German Academic Exchange Services, and the International Women’s Fellowship Leadership Program. She is a pioneer fellow of the African Humanities Program (AHP) of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). She currently serves as the inaugural President of the African Humanities Association, an offshoot of the AHP.
Her national and international board membership include the following: Consultation Board Member of the International Pragmatics Association; Assistant Secretary-General of the Fédération Internationale des Langues et Littératures Modernes; Administrative Board Member of the International Association of Universities; Steering Committee Member of the Tallories Network of Engaged Universities, Chairperson of the Interim Executive Committee of the African Pragmatics Association and Governing Council Member of the Sustainable Development Solution Network.
In 2021, Professor Amfo was awarded as the GUBA (Grow Unite Build Africa) Nana Yaa Asantewaa Woman of Enlightenment for her resilience and work in academia which has created knowledge, built confidence and broken-down barriers to opportunities. In July 2023, She was recognised by Glitz Africa as the Ghana Woman of the Year for Excellence in Education.