After 70 years of existence, the University of Ghana has made history by appointing its first woman chancellor; Mary Chinery Hesse.
This feat makes her the first woman to hold such a position in Ghana's public universities history.
Starting from August 2018, the retired International civil servant Mary Chinery Hesse will be the new Chancellor of Ghana's premier university in Accra.
Announcing her appointment on Tuesday, the University’s Registrar, Mercy Haizel Ashia said Prof. Odundo will serve as an inspiration to students at the university, especially in the school of arts.
Mary will be replacing the current Chancellor Kofi Annan; former UN Secretary General.
With the new role, she will be in charge of the overall operations of the university will also be presiding over its graduation ceremonies and issuing degrees to its graduands.
Who Is Mary?
Mary Chinery-Hesse of Ghana is Vice-Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission.
She is also a member of the country’s Board of the Centre for Policy Analysis, a Commissioner of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, a Commissioner of the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Chinery-Hesse previously was Deputy Director General of the International Labour Organization between 1989 and 1999. Before that she was Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, the Seychelles and Uganda.
Before joining the United Nations she was Principal Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, and Secretary of the National Economic Planning Council.
Chinery-Hesse received a BA (Hons) in Sociology and Economics, and Doctor of Laws (Honoris causa) from the University of Ghana; and postgraduate training in Development Economics at the University of Dublin.
She is currently a member of the Panel of the Wise, a consultative body of the AU for West Africa and the Board Chairman for Zenith Bank,Ghana.