The Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) is welcoming three international Professors - one on Sabbatical Leave from Nigeria and two Fulbright Scholars from the United States - to join its dynamic team to drive the UNESCO SDG 4 Agenda. 

The first to arrive in July 2021 was Prof. Martins Fabunmi, a Professor in Educational Leadership and Management from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan -Nigeria. Some of the many courses Prof. Fabunmi has facilitated both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels are Educational Management; Educational Planning; Educational Law, Integrity in Management in Education; Strategic Management, Social and Political Context of Educational Planning and Administration; Educational Planning for Community Development; among others. Prof. Fabunmi will be with IEPA until June 2023. 

The next to arrive at IEPA in August and September 2021 respectively are the two Fulbright Scholars - Prof. Candace M. Moore and Dr. Jillian Martin, from the United States of America. Both Fulbright Scholars will be teaching at IEPA and working on subject matter research and outreach for ten months until May/June 2022. 

Prof. Moore is an Associate Clinical Professor - Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy (HESI) Program, the Director and Affiliate Faculty at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education (CDIHE) and a Faculty Director - Higher Education in the Ghanaian Context (HEGC) Study Abroad Program at University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.  Whilst at IEPA, Prof. Moore will be teaching and conducting research as part of her project: “Culturally Conscious Pedagogy and Practice: Collaborating to Inform Ghanaian Higher Education COVID-19 Response.” Dr. Moore’s Fulbright project will focus on Ghanaian higher education practices as she explores promising ways to enhance African student affairs and higher education. 

Dr. Martin is the Assistant Director for Strategy and Evaluation with the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, USA. Dr. Martin leads the evaluation, assessment, strategic development, and organizational learning activities for the Gephardt Institute.  She also supervises Master Research Fellows in conducting literature reviews, evaluation-assessment instrument development, data analysis, data tracking, and reporting. Whilst at IEPA, she will be teaching and supporting ongoing research at the Institute, as well as conducting research on her Fulbright project.

Speaking to the Director-General of IEPA, Dr. Michael Boakye-Yiadom, he could not hide his excitement about the international addition to the IEPA academic faculty and had this to say. “IEPA’s mandate extends beyond the shores of Ghana. The addition of these three astute scholars will enhance IEPA’s teaching, outreach and research programmes in the West African Sub-Region. Additionally, their varied areas of experience will support the enhancement of IEPA’s programmes, student mentorship and theses supervision to enable us continue to graduate global citizens, well-grounded to support the implementation of educational goals globally for sustainable development.”

It is worthy to note that since its establishment and official launch as a UNESCO Category II Centre of Excellence for West Africa, IEPA has been taking bold steps to collaborate with strategic partners, harness research and innovation to boost development and build related capacities. The welcoming of international scholars to join the IEPA team is part of IEPA’s strategy to promote UCC’s internationalization agenda and to network for collaborative work on the priority areas of UNESCO within the West African Sub-Region.