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Dr. John Schwenn, President of Dalton State, and Professor E.
Kingsley Larbi, President of Regent University
College of Science and Technology in Ghana, met recently at
Dalton State to sign a “memorandum
of understanding” between the two schools. |
Having spent his early childhood and high school years in Ghana,
Dalton State College’s Director of Institutional Research Dr.
Henry Codjoe knows a lot about life in the west African nation.
And knowing that Ghana’s Regent University College of Science
and Technology’s newest campus was in need of text and reference
books for its library, Codjoe arranged to send no-longer-used
texts from Dalton State overseas to help the university populate
its collection.
Now, a few months after the 40,000 pound shipment of books
arrived in Accra, Ghana, Dalton State and Regent University
College have entered into a “memorandum of understanding,” and
will establish academic cooperation agreements, including an
exchange of students, teaching and research personnel.
“For years, I have been asked by some of the colleges in Ghana
to send unused books to their schools, and it’s something I’ve
always wanted to do,” says Codjoe, noting that many professors
in African nations are aware that American textbooks are
“frequently thrown away.”
Codjoe asked Dalton State faculty members to consider donating
texts that they were no longer using to the cause. The response
was very good, and the college was able to send over hundreds of
books, primarily those used in psychology, sociology, and
Humanities courses.
Regent University College paid the shipping costs and now
administrators have announced that they plan to name the new
library after Dalton State College when its doors open next
year.
“We are very much excited about receiving these books and about
the collaboration between my university and Dalton State,” says
Professor E. Kingsley Larbi, President of Regent University
College of Science and Technology, who visited the Dalton campus
recently to sign the memorandum of understanding along with Dr.
John Schwenn, President of Dalton State.
“Africa is one of the few continents that is well endowed when
it comes to human capital and in terms of material resources,”
he adds, “but what is missing is leadership. It is the challenge
now for our leaders to be able to have at heart the interests of
our people and to take them from where they are to where they
need to be. That begins with education.”
Larbi believes that the growth in the number of educational
institutions – 30 private universities have been established
since 1997 – will enable greater numbers of Ghanaians to find
good jobs in their country and not have to leave home to find
work in professional fields.
Programs that are in high demand will be offered through the
Regent University College of Science and Technology, Larbi
notes, saying several will be implemented “immediately” with
assistance from Dalton State.
Some of those include: the Associate of Science degree in
Nursing, Medical Clinical Assistant, Medical Radiologic
Technology, Surgical Technology Technologist,
Electrical/Electronic Equipment Installation and Repair, and
Emergency Medical Technology.
The collaboration between the two schools will involve an
educational exchange of faculty and a mutual exchange of
students.
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