CUCNursing Lecturer Wins fulbright Scholarship2017 Latest News

Mrs. Justina Yevu Johnson, aLecturerat the Department of Nursing of the School of Architecture & Sciences (SAS), has been awarded a William FulbrightScholarshipto the Sinclair School of Nursing (SSON) at the University of Missouri for a 4 year PhDprogramme.

A statement from the SSON’s website said “the Sinclair School of Nursing (SSON) is pleased to welcome its first Fulbright Scholar to the School. Justina Yevu Johnson comes to the University of Missouri from Tema, GreaterAccra,Ghana, where she is a Nursing Instructor at Central University” adding that “Justina knew she wanted to pursue a PhD, so when the opportunity presented itself to apply to be a Fulbright Scholar, she applied and was accepted”.

By this offer, Mrs. Johnson, becomes the first Fulbright Scholar to the School of Nursing of the University.

With an MPhil degree in Nursing from theUniversity of Ghana, her research interest is in the area of Palliative Care. Mrs. Johnson is also a State Registered Nurse and a Fellow of the West Africa College of Nursing and theGhanaCollege of Nursing respectively.

The 2017 annual staff retreat for Central University (CU) has been held with a call on staff to renew their commitment to the University and work towards the attainment of a world-class, internationalised private university that give true meaning to the vision of the founders as a Christian University.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bill Puplampu, in his opening address challenged staff be mindful of the Christian heritage of the University and work to consolidate the gains made over time.  “I envision a world standard university that embed a proper interpretation of both Christianity and Scholarship” adding that “our students and staff must be truly protected and shaped for the future”.

Prof Puplampu explained that his vision is to make CU the preferred University within the private university space for under and post graduate training within the next five year period. He noted that role of staff towards the achievement of the vision was key and could be reflected in the student-in class experience. “The students in class experience should be such that they will want their friends and family to come and experience it”, he posited.

He also indicated that his tenure will see the development of research capacity of the university, scholarship and credible faculty as well as build the sciences with CU becoming a place with a professional culture and ethics among for faculty and administration staff.

Prof Puplampu announced that work on the Teshie campus will soon begin. He added that when completed, it will be a campus with a niche, graduate, Law, Executive Development and theFinanceand Banking Institute.

The University Chaplain, Rev. Fiifi Otabi Wilson in a short devotion advised that the University should make the light of Christ reflect in all decision making and policies.                          “Academic and secret knowledge will dim, but the light of Christ is eternal and gives direction. Let us maintain our originality by focusing on the light of Christ alone”, he added.

Mr. Emil Afenyo, Registrar also announced key policy changes from the University Council to staff.

The retreat, held primarily to pray for the University saw staff from both faculty and administration coming together to reflect and seek God’s direction for the 2017/2018 academic year. Over 40 new staff who have joined the university in recent times were also introduced by the Director of Human Resources, Mr. Thomas Ofori Amanfo.

Professor Joseph Okoe Gogo has challengedFaculty memberspursuing PhD programs to be disciplined and ready to address any challenge(s) that might arise in the course of their studies and finish on time.

According to him, the PhD program is the most distinct of all academic qualifications and therefore “it comes with a lot of challenges which you should be ready for once you are undertaking the doctorate degree program”.

Professor Gogo, who is also the Head of Civil Engineering Department of the university also indicated that the PhD candidate ought to have the personal attributes of discipline, persistence and commitment in order to complete the degree on schedule. He added that the learning outcome of a PhD holder is in the acquisition of research, analytic and methodology for solving complex problems and as a result called on them to be open minded to new ideas and critical inquiry.

Addressing the 2^nd PhD Clinic organized by the Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor in collaboration with the Research and Development Directorate (RDD), Prof Gogo opined that there will be a lot of challenges with supervisors, program structure as well as other personal and faculty commitments which must be attended to. He therefore cautioned them to be self-disciplined and be up to the task when the going gets tough.

He also advised prospective candidates to undertake a firm appraisal of the institutions they will want to enroll in bearing in mind the enrolment requirements, duration of the studies, research proposal and supervision requirements. He said the institution among other things should provide a vibrant research environment which comprises of active researchers, laboratories, libraries, information resources, seminars and other research tools to be able to produce the expected outcome after the studies stressing that “the academic institution should have a structured programme that will lead to the award of the terminal degree”.

The PhD clinic, organized by the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor in collaboration with the Research and Development Directorate (RDD) was to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, challenges and best practices relating to the PhD experience. It was also aimed at addressing specific questions and concerns of Faculty relating to PhD for improved collaboration between PhD candidates and prospective candidates in faculty.

A Senior Lecturer at the School of Applied Science, Dr. Charles Annor on his part discussed the funding prospects available for the PhD candidates. He revealed that some organizations (educational, scientific, government institutions and Non-Government Organizations) have funds specifically set aside for research. To access these funds, he advised the prospective PhD candidates to tie their research projects/proposals to the objectives of the funding agency in order to justify their requirements.

He also mentioned that the University could consider undertaking exchangeprogrammeswith some of the identifiable institutions and explore the available opportunities for faculty. Dr. Annor added that a Memorandum of Understanding will have to be signed with the institutions to access the funding facilities especially in the area of scientific research.

Eight (8) Central University students were privileged to participate in the 2017 edition of the Ghana NetherlandsBusinessand Culture Council (GNBCC) challenge organised for 20 Ghanaian and 20 Netherlands students.

Together with 12 other students from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA),University of Ghana, Ashesi University and theUniversity of Cape Coast, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science andTechnology(KNUST), Sunyani Technology University and Palm Institute, they went on a 2 week all-expenses paid study trip to the Netherlands where they participated in workshops, training sessions, field trips, excursions and real-lifebusinesscase studies after the kick off held in Ghana.

The eight students selected from a total of 24 CU students for the kick off are

1. Ms. Elizabeth Ewudiwa (Human Resource Management)
2. Ms. Esther Dorgbefu (Communication Studies)
3. Mr. Ekow Tachie-Menson (Communication Studies)
4. Ms. Etornam Adzoa Amegbe (Architecture)
5. Mr Kobina Abaka-Kwansa (Marketing)
6. Ms. Jacqueline Ocran (Banking and Finance)
7. Ms. Elsie Tachie-Menson (Environment and Development Studies)
8. Mr. Richmond Banson (Accounting)

The NewBusinessChallenge is an initiative of the Dutch Embassy. It presents a unique business case competition on real business cases of selected Dutch companies operating in Ghana and Netherlands. The ‘challenge’ is about discovering new opportunities for the private sector and maximizing the entrepreneurial potential of the participating students thus a cross-over betweeneducationand real-life practice