Professor Ernest Aryeetey has been named the new Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana. Professor Aryeetey succeeds Professor C.N.B. Tagoe whose tenure ends on July 31.

Professor Aryeetey was selected ahead of four other competitors by a search committee headed by Chief Justice Georgina Wood. The committee submitted its work to the University Council which approved of Professor Aryeetey’s appointment at a meeting last Monday, April 5.

Speaking to Citi News, the wife of Prof. Aryeetey, Dr. Ellen Bortei-Doku Aryeetey expressed joy at his appointment.

She said though Prof. Aryeetey was in competition with other strong contenders his appointment did not come as much surprise. “He went in with very strong credentials and so we did expect he will go far in the process and with the kind of credentials he went in with one would be surprise if he was not appointed…I’m not saying it was a done deal but he was a strong candidate,” She said.

Professor Aryeetey commences work on August 1, 2010. Until his appointment, Professor Aryeetey was the Director of the Institute of Economic, Social and Statistical Research (ISSER) at Legon. He is currently a member of the American Economics Association.

Professor Aryeetey studied Economics at the University of Ghana and obtained a PhD at the University of Dortmund, Germany in 1985.

He has been on the research faculty of ISSER since 1986. He was a temporary Lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 1993 and a visiting Professor at Yale University Department of Economics in 1999.

His research work focuses on the economics of development with interest in institutions and their role in development, regional integration, economic reforms, financial systems in support of development and small enterprise development.

He is very well known for his work on informal finance and microfinance in Africa. He has consulted for various international agencies on a number of development and political economy subjects. Prof. Aryeetey has published 3 books, 5 edited volumes, 32 journal articles and many working and discussion papers.

Among his publications are Financial Integration and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa, Economic Reforms in Ghana: The Miracle and the Mirage and Testing Global Interdependence. He was the second recipient of the Michael Bruno award of the World Bank.

Ernest Aryeetey was the President of the Ghana Institute of Planners from 1998-2000. He is currently a member of the American Economics Association.