Celia Scott Weatherhead School develops academic relationships with schools in Ghana
A delegation of faculty from the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University traveled to Ghana this summer to develop stronger academic relations in the West African country.
Over the course of several weeks, the school’s dean Dr. Thomas LaVeist, Dr. Sudesh Srivastav, interim chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, and Assistant Professor Dr. Samuel Kakraba visited a total of four universities: the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the University of Cape Coast, Ensign Global University, and the University of Ghana.
The contingent signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with each institution, designed to strengthen academic cooperation through student and faculty exchanges, curriculum development, joint research, and collaborative grant opportunities.
“We have relations with universities around the world,” said LaVeist. “This is an opportunity for our schools on both sides of the Atlantic to grow our interactions and collaborations, learn from one another, and work toward a healthier world.”
Ghana has enjoyed a long collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control and has achieved significant progress in malaria control and infectious disease surveillance. The country is also recognized as an emerging hub for data science and artificial intelligence in Africa.
Dr. Rita Akosua Dickson, vice chancellor of KNUST, welcomed the partnership, describing it as a mutually beneficial journey. “We place a high premium on this relationship. We are not just here to train professionals for Ghana or the sub-region, but we train international professionals,” she said. “We will be able to learn more from you while you also learn from us.”
She also highlighted the potential for collaboration to go beyond public health, expressing optimism about partnerships across other schools at Tulane.
University of Ghana: Dean Dr. Kwasi Torpey
Ensign Global: Dr. Stephen Manortey, director of academic programs
University of Cape Coastal: Pro Vice-Chancellor Denis Worlanyo Aheto
KNUST: Vice Chancellor Rita Akosua Dickson
