The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission has declared that there is no evidence to support claims by Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan, Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, that she holds the academic rank of professor.
In a letter to the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, GTEC explained that it had requested Dr. Ayensu-Danquah to provide proof of her professorial appointment by August 11, 2025. Her legal team, led by lawyer David K. Ametefe, responded on August 8, arguing that she was appointed an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Utah in the United States. They further challenged GTEC’s authority to question an appointment made outside Ghana.
However, documents reviewed by the Commission contradicted the MP’s claims. A letter from the University of Utah, signed by Prof. W. Bradford Rockwell, Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Surgery, confirmed that Dr. Ayensu-Danquah’s appointment was as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, a non-tenure track role that GTEC clarified is equivalent, within Ghana’s academic system, to a part-time lecturer rather than a senior lecturer or professor.
“The omission of the term ‘Adjunct’ is misleading. Based on the above, the Commission concludes that Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah does not hold the title of Professor in any capacity,” GTEC stated.
The Commission has called on her employers to ensure that she refrains from presenting herself as a professor. It warned that if she continues to do so, legal action may be taken on grounds of public deception.
Attached to GTEC’s letter were its earlier correspondence dated August 4, 2025, the clarification from the University of Utah, and the response from Dr. Ayensu-Danquah’s legal team.
