Ghanaian Professor installed as Principal of University of Toronto – Scarborough

A Ghanaian Professor, Wisdom Tettey, has been installed as the Vice President and Principal of the University of Toronto-Scarborough in the largest city of Canada.
He is the first Black person to head the campus.
His installation took place at the Scarborough campus of the University of Toronto amidst academic pageantry with the blasting of Ghanaian traditional song in the background.
The ceremony was well attended by dignitaries and academia including the Vice Chancellor, academic staff, students and family members/representatives from the Toronto Ghanaian community.

Professor Wisdom Tettey outlined his ambitious plans for the University of Toronto Scarborough during his installation Monday as vice-president and principal.

“Thank you for the opportunity and privilege to serve, for your confidence in UTSC’s potential, and for your support for inspiring inclusive excellence that benefits us all,” said Tettey in his installation address.

He is U of T Scarborough’s 11th principal.Before administering the oath of office in front of a packed room at the new Highland Hall event centre, U of T President Meric Gertler spoke about Tettey’s leadership skills.

“Professor Tettey demonstrates a marvellous combination of confidence and openness, clarity and subtlety, energy, commitment, and a great sense of humour,” said President Gertler.

“He wasted no time embarking on a strategic planning process for UTSC, and consulting with all members of the community in an extensive and thorough process. He is profoundly committed to ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to contribute and be heard, as part of his commitment to inclusive excellence.”

Tettey, who is a leading scholar on African media, politics and diaspora, outlined how his vision of inclusive excellence will be supported through four priorities:

Advancing a culture of empathetic and inclusive leadership
Promoting an inclusive, healthy learning and working environment
Growing local and global networks
Boosting U of T Scarborough’s global standing through scholarly prominence and exceptional learning

He began his installation speech by reflecting on his childhood and formative years in Ghana.

“I grew up in a low-income, pluricultural neighbourhood of the national capital [Accra], where diversity, marginalization and community converged,” he said.

“I saw excellence in the midst of deprivation. I saw good emerge when communities are motivated by common purpose, mutual commitment to that purpose, and belief in one another to accomplish it.”

Prior to UBC, he spent 13 years at the University of Calgary and before that was at Queen’s University, where he received his PhD in political studies and began his academic career”
Prof. Wisdom Tettey was a product of Univeristy of Ghana, Legon before heading to Canada.

Before arriving Canada to complete his master’s degree (University of British Columbia) and PhD (Queen’s University), Tettey was an undergraduate at the University of Ghana. He spent his third year in Moscow during the height of Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost programs.

Prior to joining U of T Scarborough, he was the dean of the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at UBC’s Okanagan campus, where he led the development of a five-year strategic plan. He also served four years as dean of the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan.

Tettey was joined at Monday’s ceremony by his spouse Natasha and two of his three children, Norvisi and Selasi.