Endowment Fund Established At Institute Of African Studies.

An endowment Fund to promote African studies has been established at the Institute of African Studies, the University of Ghana, Legon.
The Joseph Agyeman-Duah Foundation which starts running this August will help students working on their post-graduate and doctorate research dissertation and writing.

Three outstanding students in any area of African studies will each year, be selected by the Institute as beneficiaries of The Joseph Agyeman-Duah Prize in African Studies, which carries a financial package of $200 for each student.

The fund, in memory of the late Joseph Agyeman-Duah, a deceased Research Fellow at the Institute and a pioneer member of The Historical Society of Ghana was created by the Center for Intellectual Renewal (CIR), a public policy institute.
The late Agyeman-Duah did some outstanding research work in Akan history and culture especially his unprecedented research and compilation of stool histories. He died in 1996.
The Founder of the CIR, Mr. Ivor Agyeman-Duah, an author and currently head of the Public Affairs Department at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, DC, said that the seed money for the endowment is being managed by the Fidelity Discount House in Accra.
He explained that it was raised from the sales launch of his sixth book, Between Faith and History: A Biography of J.A. Kufuor which was recently launched in Accra and was the subject of discussion at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC.
The CIR will also over the next two years re-stock the Institute’s library with titles from the premier publishing firm and distributing network, Africa World Press in New Jersey who are publishing the American edition of President Kufuor’s biography.
In all, over 400 book titles, ranging from academic, non-academic, poetry and biography from all over Africa are expected for the re-stock.
A memorandum of understanding has already been entered into with the Institute of African Studies, Prof. Takyiwaa Manuah, who signed for the Institute, commended Mr. Agyeman-Duah for the initiative and said, ‘We are delighted at your initiative and proud that our students have been selected to benefit from The Joseph Agyeman-Duah Prize in African Studies.’ She expressed the hope that the endowment fund will grow to enable more students’ benefit from it.