Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi
Title: Minister for Habours & Railways
Company/Organization: The Republic of Ghana
Program: African Graduate Fellowship Program (AFGRAD)
Degree:Ph.D. in Zoology
Year Completed: 1979
Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi was elected to the post of Minister for Habours & Railways in Ghana in 2003. He was born in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. Between 1959 and 1965, Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi attended Adisadel College in Ghana. He gained admission to the University of Ghana in 1965 where he obtained a bachelor's of science and a master's of science respectively. Professor Ameya-Akumfi begain his teaching career as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Ghana in 1968.
In 1972, he was awarded a scholarship under the AAI-administered African Graduate Fellowship Program (AFGRAD) and attended the University of Michigan in the United States of America. He earned a Ph.D. in zoology in 1979.
Upon completion of his studies in the United States, he returned to Ghana and became a Lecturer in the Zoology Department of the University of Cape Coast. In 1991, he was promoted to the rank of a full Professor of Zoology. He went on to serve as head of the Zoology Department, Dean of Faculty Services, and Pro-Vice Chancellor. During his tenure at the University of Cape Coast, he participated in a number of activities related to Higher Education in Ghana, serving as the Chairman of the Committee to Review Staffing in the Polytechnics. He also has to his credit 26 publications on various topics in biology that he published while at the University of Cape Coast. In 1998, he was appointed Director General of the Ghana Educational Service.
Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi has served as a member of the Ghana Science Association, West African Science Association, The Crustacean Society, The New York Academy of Sciences as well as the International Association of Astocologists and American Society of Zoologists. He is currently the Vice President of Ghana Institute of Biology.
On the national level, he has served as a member on the National Committee on Fisheries, Ghana National Oceanographic Committee, University Rationalisation Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of New Times Corporation. He previously served as Minister of Education from 2001 to 2003.