UPSA welcomes two new female directors

The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) has announced the appointment of two new management members.

They are Prof. Opoku Mensah, an Associate Professor of Industrial and Organisational Psychology who is joining the Faculty of Management Studies of UPSA and assumes office as Director of the Centre for

International Education and Collaboration (CIEC) and Mrs. Aba Lokko who is also joining the UPSA as the Director of Public Affairs.

Prof Opoku Mensah

Before joining UPSA, Prof. Opoku Mensah worked at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and has over 10 years’ experience in teaching and academic research.

At UCC she served in numerous capacities and championed a number of international collaborations, notable among them were; the introduction of the flagship UCC Leadership Empowerment Academy Programme in collaboration with University at Buffalo, USA and the Erasmus Mobility Grant for UCC faculty and students at Tampere University, Finland.

She also contributed to the establishment of joint collaborations with a number of institutions and the University of Cape Coast.

She is the founding Head of the newly created Department of Management at the School of Business.

She served as the Board Chairperson of the University of Cape Coast Basic Schools Governing Committee, and Hall Warden of Adehye Hall.

She also chaired the Institutional Advancement and Rebranding Team - one of the strategic pillars for the advancement of the University.

Her research interests include workplace diversity and knowledge management, work-family conflict, employees work attitudes, employee efficiency and effectiveness, and social issues in Management and has published widely in these areas. She serves as an external examiner for several universities in Ghana and abroad in her areas of expertise.

She is currently working on a project with the Ghana Employers Association called “Female Future Ghana.” The project is intended to prepare Ghanaian corporate women for leadership in top management positions despite the multiple roles they perform as parents as well as being career women.

Education

Prof. Opoku Mensah is a product of the University of Ghana, Legon where she obtained her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Industrial and Organisational Psychology and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

Professional Affiliations

She is a member of the Ghana Psychology Council, International Federation of University Women (IFUW, Geneva) and Work and Family Researchers Network (U.S.A).

Aba Lokko

Mrs. Aba Lokko joins the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) as the Director of Public Affairs.

Mrs. Lokko brings to UPSA over 22years extensive experience in corporate reputation and risk management, strategic communications management, media relations, stakeholder relations management, CSR, executive visibility strategies, advocacy, community relations, internal communications, brand, and marketing communications in both the public and private sectors.

Her experience spans across diverse industries in Oil & Gas, Petroleum, Information Communication Technology, Insurance and Education. Mrs. Lokko is regarded as one of the industry's foremost authorities on corporate reputation management.

Prior to joining UPSA, Mrs. Lokko was the Head of Corporate Communications at Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet).

In that capacity, she deployed high level cutting edge strategic communication solutions in repositioning the narrative on the reputation of GCNet, accompanied by several awards. She had earlier held a similar portfolio as the Head of Public Relations at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) for more than 13 years, the first public relations
manager.

The excellence discharge of her role at TOR has become a case study for crisis communication management for professional development lessons. Mrs. Lokko prior to joining TOR, had worked at the CDH Insurance Company as the Area Manager-Tema.

Mrs. Lokko also worked at Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), where her professional journey started.

Education

Aba Lokko holds a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in Communications from the School of Communications Studies, a Post Graduate Diploma in Communication Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology with Psychology; all from the University of Ghana.

Mrs. Lokko has also benefitted from capacity building programmes and participated in seminars and conferences in and out of the country.

Professional Affiliations

Mrs. Lokko is an Accredited Membership (APR) of the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana and served on the Education and Professional Development Committee. She is the Vice Chairman of the Fundraising & Sponsorship Committee. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana.