Oration Vol. 2

There is no more powerful tool in the Chief Executives arsenal than the words that he speaks. This is even more evident in the case of the Vice-Chancellor. His statements determine the course of history; crafted deftly, they galvanized the university public support necessary to fulfil an agenda. Conversely, a bad speech can chip away at the aura of a leader, and create opposition to his measures.

Prof. Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw is among those most adept at wielding the spoken word as an administrative tool. He speaks commandingly, but without condescension; he enlightens without lecturing; he can climb a stage and yet always seem to be on-the-level with his audience and speak as someone who understands their fears and hopes. Some might say that eloquence is the ability to speak in grand terms, but Prof. Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw eloquence is precisely his ability to speak as an ordinary person.

He courageously mounted podiums at the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, Africa, and the World at large to proclaim the vision, mission and mandate of our noble institution. He clearly articulated where we were coming from, our intended destination and vividly reported our gains.

He was excellent at mobilising the support of the team he lead with his words. He sufficiently motivated

• prospective students to choose UEW,
• continuing students to be thankful for the opportunity to be in UEW and by extension work hard, and
• graduating students to go out there confident in their abilities and be good ambassadors for the institution.

It would be an oversight not to commend the good work that personnel of the Registry and some teaching staff have done in putting up draft speeches over the course of his tenure of years in office. Speechwriting can sometimes be a thankless job; you subsume your ego and your writing style, and forsake all accolades a good speech might garner from the public. The Speech Writers Group was able to build an easy rapport with their principal, to the point that they can complete—and a lot of times, even read—his thoughts. This is rooted upon a solid grasp of his values system and philosophies in governance, a grasp which allows them to organize and refine the Vice-Chancelor’s thoughts into complete and effective artefacts of governance. This collection stands as testament to their skill, their synergy with their principal, and their commitment to utilize their talents to contribute to the building of the University of Education, Winneba. Ultimately, though, there should be no mistake about it: the speeches in this collection are the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, Prof. Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw’s - his words, his thoughts, and his vision for our noble University.

Registrar

Dr. C. Y. Akwaa-Mensah