KNUST: 23 female physics students benefit from Dr. K. C. Whittaker Endowment Fund
Twenty-three female students studying Physics at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have received financial support from the Dr. K. C. Whittaker Endowment Fund to aid their education.
The beneficiaries, comprising both undergraduate and postgraduate students, each received GH₵3,000. The fund was established by the late Dr. Rose Whittaker, wife of Dr. Kenneth Charles Whittaker, the first Dean of the College of Science at KNUST. She aimed to ease the financial burden on female students and encourage more women to study physics.
Since its establishment in 1998, the fund has supported over 300 outstanding female Physics students, many of whom have gone on to pursue advanced studies abroad or taken up teaching positions in universities across Ghana.
Speaking at a brief ceremony held on campus over the weekend, the Provost of the College of Science, Professor Leonard Kofitse Amekudzi, praised the initiative for its lasting impact. He said the support had contributed to a steady rise in female participation and excellence in Physics, leading to the appointment of female lecturers in the department for the first time.
“The support is gradually increasing the interest of females in Physics. It’s no surprise that females are now excelling in class,” he said, commending the Trustees for their consistency in supporting brilliant but needy students.
Professor Amekudzi noted that the scholarship initially catered for only one student 28 years ago, but now benefits more than 20 annually, demonstrating its steady growth and influence.
Among those present at the event were members of the Board of Trustees and faculty from the Department of Physics.
One of the beneficiaries, Wilhelmina Sharon Jones, who has received the award four times, expressed deep gratitude to the trustees. She said the scholarship had been life-changing, enabling her to continue her education despite financial hardship.
“But for this support scheme, there was no way I could have furthered my education,” she said. She also encouraged young women to pursue Physics without fear, stressing that “Physics is not as difficult as we have always been told to believe. All one needs is to apply the basic principles.”
She, on behalf of her colleagues, thanked the trustees for sustaining what she described as a “life-changing opportunity” for women in science.
