The Law Students' Union has honoured the immediate-past Dean of the University of Ghana School of Law (UGSoL), Professor Raymond Atuguba, for his dedication to the holistic development of the faculty.
Led by the incoming Dean, Professor Peter Atudiwe Atupare and other senior lecturers, the students presented two portraits to Prof. Atuguba, who took over the leadership of the faculty in 2019, and has since increased the academic staff from 20 to about 150 lecturers and the student population from approximately 600 to over 2,000.
The citation was presented to him at a dinner and awards night to conclude the 50th UGSoL Law Week celebration, which began in June this year.
The event included a heartfelt slideshow of testimonials from both teaching and non-teaching staff about the impact of the man under whose leadership the construction of the $25 million state-of-the-art multi-purpose building complex was underway.
The facility would operate as a centre for legal education and also promote national development by providing skilled legal professionals.
Some of Prof. Atuguba’s public lectures and significant legal statements were also included in the slideshow.
He officially handed over the office in Accra yesterday.
Tributes
Prof. Kwame Gyan, an Associate Professor at the university, who was on the search committee that appointed Prof. Atuguba, said the outgoing dean made student and faculty welfare issues paramount.
Prof. Gyan said that professorial promotions were unprecedented under Prof. Atuguba’s tenure, expressing gratitude for championing innovation, inclusion and excellence at the faculty.
For his part, Prof. Atupare described the occasion as a moment of joy.
“The students love you, and we, the faculty, also love you for the tremendous job, the infrastructure and unity you championed for the faculty,” he said.
Prof. Atupare urged the law students to draw on his extensive knowledge and to emulate the humility shown by Prof. Atuguba within the faculty.
Appreciation
Prof. Atuguba, accompanied by his wife and two daughters, expressed his gratitude for the honour bestowed upon him.
He stated that the achievements could not have happened without the contributions of faculty members and management.
Prof. Atuguba urged faculty and students to provide greater support to the new dean, emphasising that “this is because we cannot reduce, we have to grow.”
“If you give him less support than you gave me, it means we are walking backwards,” he said.
