UniMAC turns to ‘Men in Aprons’ to rebuild campus community
The University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC) says it will make its newly introduced "Men in Aprons" programme a regular event as part of efforts to rebuild social life on campus and deepen relations among staff and students.
The programme, held last Saturday, was organised by the UniMAC chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) and the Graduate Students' Association of Ghana (GRASAG), together with the university's Fun Day Committee.
It brought together lecturers, administrators, postgraduate students and invited guests in a social gathering where male staff swapped offices and lecture halls for cooking stations in an attempt to encourage interaction outside formal academic settings.
The Vice-Chancellor of UniMAC, Prof. Eric Opoku Mensah, said the idea was drawn from communal gatherings organised at the University of Education, Winneba, where staff and students meet outside lecture rooms and offices to socialise.
He said the nature of UniMAC as a non-residential university, coupled with long commuting hours in Accra, had reduced opportunities for staff and students to interact informally.
"What particularly gladdens my heart is the fact that if you look at our university, by virtue of our history and our nature, we are not a university that started with residential accommodation, so there is very little opportunity for us to come together," Prof. Opoku Mensah said.
He said the university intended to hold the programme every year while plans were also underway to establish a clubhouse for staff interaction outside working hours.
Participants prepared a variety of local dishes, including fufu with light soup, yam with kontomire stew, jollof rice, fried rice, banku with okro stew and abunuabunu soup.
The event also featured games, music and dancing, with guests from the University of Education, Winneba, joining the gathering.
The Rector of the Institute of Journalism campus, Prof. Christiana Hammond, said the programme gave members of the university community the chance to interact away from the pressures of work.
"We are in aprons because we want to socialise. We want to remove our feet from our shoes, stretch our legs and relax," she said.
The President of UTAG-UniMAC, Dr Noel Nutsugah, said the event was held ahead of Mother's Day to honour women within the university community.
"What we have decided to do is to take time off to prepare very sumptuous meals for our mothers," he said.
The programme also attracted Ghanaian musician Okyeame Kwame, popularly known as the Rap Doctor, who is currently pursuing a PhD at UniMAC.
Prof. Opoku Mensah said the university hoped to institutionalise the programme annually while also pursuing plans for a campus clubhouse that would give staff and students a dedicated space to interact beyond working hours.
