A ceremony of investiture has been held for Professor Eric Nyarko- Sampson as the pioneering Vice chancellor for the University of Environment and Sustainable Development at Somanya in the Eastern Region.

Subsequently, Ms. Mary Abena Agyepong has also been inducted as the first registrar of the University.
Speaking at the ceremony held at the forecourt of the University’s campus, the deputy minister for education Rev. Ntim Fordjour assured government’s inflicting support in strengthening an educational legacy that will last long.

He said the University of Environment and Sustainable Development was established at a time the world was faced with global challenges and climate induced disaster such as flooding, deforestation among others.
Rev. Fordjour said it is important that the university positioned itself to play and champion front line role in climate action through ground-breaking research and innovations that will ensure that the world would be compelled to come to Somanya for solution in order to great a habitable environment and a suitable place for humanity.

In his speech, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Sampson Nyarko revealed his vision to establish a strong foundation upon which a university that is comparable to any other anywhere in the world could be built.
He stated his commitment to lead the schools in the university to, where appropriate, develop competively, demand-driven and market oriented programs and research in environmental sciences, policy, agro-business, water resources, energy economics, policy and sustainability, urban architecture among others to meet individual, organizational and national aspirations.
He announced that, the university within one and half year have developed twenty academic programs which was approved by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, and are currently running in two schools.
“We hope to introduce three additional programs; Bachelor of Science in Urban Design, Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Construction Management after receiving the requisite approval in our upcoming third school, the school of Built Environment”, he revealed.
The Vice Chancellor added the university has also submitted a proposal to the ministry of education to equip and commission the University of Environment and Sustainable Development as an institution for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.
Touching on linkages and collaborations, he said the university would work in partnership with internal and external institutions in the specialized area of the u in particular, and industry, in general, to discuss and make inputs into new programs to be developed and those to be reviewed.
Prof Nyarko- Sampson said the vision was to pursue an avenue for institution-to-institution, researcher to researcher and institution to researcher collaborations locally and internationally in research aimed at ground-breaking findings, information policy and improving lives and also contribution to the creation and dissemination of knowledge.