University of Ghana


The University of Ghana is the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. It was founded in 1948, in the British colony of the Gold Coast, as the University College of the Gold Coast, and was originally an affiliate college of the University of London, which supervised its academic programs and awarded degrees. After independence in 1957, the college was renamed the University College of Ghana. It changed its name again to the University of Ghana in 1961, when it gained full university status. The University of Ghana is situated on the West view of the Accra Legon hills and at the northeast of the centre of Accra, now has various schools, institutions, colleges and departments and has over 40,000 registered students.

Introduction

The original emphasis on establishing the University of Ghana was on the liberal arts, social sciences, law, basic science, agriculture and medicine. However, as part of a national educational reform program, the university's curriculum was expanded to provide more technology-based and vocational courses as well as postgraduate training..
The University of Ghana which is mainly based at Legon, about 12 kilometres northeast of the center of Accra has its medical school is in the town called Korle-Bu, with a teaching hospital and a secondary/external campus in the city of Accra. It also has a graduate school of nuclear and Allied Sciences at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, making it one of the few universities on the African continent offering programs in nuclear physics and nuclear engineering.

Vision

The vision of the premier Ghana University; the University of Ghana has always been to develop world-class human resources with capabilities to meet the nation's development needs and global challenges through quality teaching, learning, research and knowledge sharing and "to become a world class research-intensive university over the next decade".

Mission

The University of Ghana has in its mission to create and enabling environment that makes the university to increasingly become relevant to national and global development through cutting-edge research as well as high quality teaching and learning.

Values

The four values of the University of Ghana education are Integrity, Commitment, Respect and Loyalty.

Strategic priorities

The University of Ghana strategic values include the following;
a. Relevant cutting edge research and community engagement
b. Highest international standard of teaching, learning and development of leadership
c. Fulfilling experiences for internal stakeholders
d. Equal opportunity in gender and adversity
e. Achieving greater effectiveness, and efficiency of institutional processes
f. Financial performance to enhance the mobilization and management of resources at unit and central administration levels
g. Strengthen the management of the University's assets and facilities
h. System-wide monitoring and evaluation
i. Build external stakeholder confidence in the capabilities of the university

The University of Ghana Logo

The Logo is made up of three colors; the midnight blue, lemon yellow and vegas gold. The Blue shield with three AYA standing upright in top half and DWENINMENTOAS in the middle of bottom half, all embossed in gold. The Logo was designed by A.M.Opoku. AYA is an Adinkra Symbol. The AYA grows straight and it is used here to represent truthfulness and an ability to stay upright.
Ram's Horns:'Dweninmen' is an Adinkra symbol. Here, two interlocking ram's horns have been used to symbolise strength and a call to pursue a path of integrity.

History

The formation of the West African Commission of the Asquith Commission on Higher Education in the Colonies under the chairmanship of was the birth of this notable institution in 1948. The commission recommended the setting up of university colleges in association with the University of London, thus the University College of the Gold Coast was founded by Ordinance on 11 August 1948 for the purpose of providing for and promoting university education, learning and research This was made possible by the rejection of the first recommendation which stated that only one university college was feasible for the whole of British West Africa, which would be located in Nigeria by the people of Gold Coast led principally by Dr.J.B. Danquah.
The University College of Gold Coast as the time became the University College of Ghana after the country attained its independence from the British colony. In October 1961 the University College of Ghana attained sovereign university status and was assigned the mandate by an acto of Parliament to award its own degrees.

Office of the Chancellor

is the current Chancellor of the University. She was duly elected as Chancellor and subsequently inducted into office on Wednesday, August 1, 2018 at a Special Congregation of the University held in the Great Hall.

Past Chancellors of the University

Until the year 1998, the Head of State acted as Chancellor of the University of Ghana.  Thus, from 1961 when the University of Ghana was established by an Act of Parliament, the first Head of State of independent Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah became the first Chancellor of the University of Ghana. 
The following have held the position of Chancellor of the University:
is the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana.

History Of The Office

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF THE GOLD COAST
David Mowbray Balme, Principal
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF GHANA
David Mowbray Balme, Principal
Raymond Henry Stoughton, Principal
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

The Balme Library

The Balme Library was established in 1948 as the Achimota College Library. It is the main and mother library of the university's library network.
The Balme library is located on the main campus of the University. The central location of the Library, its facilities and the scope of the coverage of the collection makes it a very important and vital part of academic life on campus.
The Library provides excellent facilities, products and services. Products include reference materials, text books, journal databases and study carrels. Facilities include the 24 hr reading room, the , , printing and binding services, photocopy services and a networked environment with computers.

College of Health Sciences

There are six schools, and one research institute under this college. They include:
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Starting from the 2014/2015 academic year, the University of Ghana adopted the collegiate system and thus categorized all schools and departments under four colleges, which are:
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There are five faculties outside the above colleges and they include:

Legon Campus

The Legon Campus lies about 13 kilometers north-east of Accra, the capital of Ghana. this is where most of the University's teaching and research are carried out. The Legon Campus also houses the central administration of the University. there are a number if student residences located on the Legon Campus

Korle-Bu Campus

The Korle-Bu Campus, headed by a Provost, houses the administration of the College of Health Sciences. Some of the constituent schools are also located on the Korle-Bu Campus; the School of Medicine and Dentistry and the School of Allied Health Sciences.

Accra City Campus

This campus is strategically located in the heart of the city

Distance Education Campuses

The university has Distance Education campuses in the various regions where it runs a variety of programs, including degree courses. Awudome College has residential facilities that enable short courses over weekends and other duration to be run there.

Reputation

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2018 ranks the University of Ghana at the 800-1000th place globally and 17th in Africa.

Research and learning centres

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Kade Agricultural Research Station, or Kade Agricultural Research Centre, is an agricultural research center located at Kade, in the Eastern Region of Ghana is part of the University of Ghana Centers of Research and Learning. It is one of the three agricultural research centers of Ghana's university. The center at Kade was established in 1957. It covers an area of 99.3 hectares and is mainly concerned with research into production of forest zone crops such as citrus, plantain, cocoyam, oil palm and rubber, with a special interest in agronomy of perennial crop plants.

Facilities

Halls of residence{{Cite web|title=JCRs UG Students|url=https://www.ug.edu.gh/students/src/jcrs|website=www.ug.edu.gh|access-date=2020-05-30}}

The halls of residence of the University of Ghana has been described as "home way from home." Halls of residence are provided for graduate and undergraduate students. There are also flats and guest rooms for senior members and guests. There are main halls of residence by the Government of Ghana and private halls of residence built on campus by individuals and corporate bodies. The below is a caption of description of the halls of residence; Commonwealth hall, Legon hall, Mensah Sarbah hall, Volta hall, Akuafo hall and Jubilee hall at the University of Ghana, Legon.
The university has eight newly created halls of residence that were commissioned in 2011. They are:

Hostels

There are ten university hostels: the International Students' Hostels, the Valco Trust Hostel, The Commonwealth Hall, The Akuafo Hall, The Mensah Sarbah Hall, The Legon Hall, The Limann Hall, The Kwapong Hall, The Elizabeth Sey Hall and the Jean Aka Nelson hall. There are also private hostels, SSNIT Hostels.

Bank, postal and other services

, Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays Bank, Cal Bank, HFC Bank, Access Bank, Stanbic Bank, Ecobank Ghana and Prudential Bank have branches on the Legon campus. There is a branch of the national postal service on campus. Other banks have ATMs on campus.

Roads usage and user charges

From 1 February 2014, all vehicles entering the University of Ghana's main campus, and also those using the road passing through the Staff Village of the University were required to pay charges. This was heavily criticized by public and students and was therefore suspended. Currently, various entry points into the campus require vehicle owners to obtain electronically scannable cards issued and authorized by the transport unit of the university.

Notable alumni

The university has appeared in several films and television advertisements. The television series Sun City has a lot of scenes of the university.
The name of the university has also been referenced in the lyrics of artists in Ghana, including Sarkodie's "Legon Girls", Buk Bak's "Klu blofo", Kwadei's "Wutatami" and Okordii's "Four years in Legon". In June 2020 the University of Ghana was resolute to continue with its planned online teaching and learning for the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year despite the government's plan to reopen schools for final year students.