The man credited for transforming a struggling professional institute into a first class University and becoming its first Vice Chancellor, Prof Joshua Alabi on Wednesday returned to the school amidst jollity and camaraderie.

Prof Alabi was on the campus of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) to witness the commissioning of his last infrastructural project, the state of the art and multipurpose auditorium.

The former Vice Chancellor who came second in the recently organised presidential primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) toured the giant facility and visited the two levels of underground car parks.

During the tour of the solar-powered auditorium, Prof Alabi visited the media room which also serves as a security monitoring room controlling all the cameras installed on the campus.

The GHS 77 million ultra-modern UPSA Conference Center was constructed within 30 months.

The auditorium has a seating capacity of 3,550 and a two-level underground car park.

Furthermore, it has Conference Facilities and Offices for seminars and training programmes as well as a Students’ Centre.

Before today’s visit, Prof Joshua Alabi had issued a statement on Saturday to tell the story of the ultra-modern auditorium.

Read excerpts of the statement below;

It was a beautiful day in 2013, with all set for the matriculation of the 2013/2014 batch of students. The program started in earnest, then suddenly the heavens opened and the downpour disrupted the beautifully arranged 2013 matriculation ceremony. Sad. The Vice Chancellor in such a painful moment then developed the idea for a big, spacious and well stuffed auditorium on UPSA campus, which can host the matriculation and graduation ceremonies perfectly.

Entertaining the idea, it dawn on me that for UPSA to further establish its self in the comity of acclaimed universities, we needed such an auditorium of international standard, as an added advantage in hosting seminars, workshops, public lectures, etc and also for commercial purposes, to raise revenue.

Turning such a gargantuan idea into reality naturally came with the hurdles. I got the development officer of the school onboard this dream, and by 2015, the idea had evolved with a master class architectural design and in a first of it’s kind here, we had two levels of underground car park. When we finally brought it to the attention of the university stakeholders, the smiles on the faces of members of the then Governing Council and the Academic Board, is still fresh in my mind.

Moving to the next step, we contacted three banks with our plan to develop such a world class facility. Two of the banks turned us down. Graciously, Access Bank saw the viability of the project and came onboard handy. For their solid partnership, I salute the management of Access Bank for being our reliable partner. I thank you for accepting the challenge to finance such project, purely based on our projected cash flow and commitment to pay.

At such a proud moment in the history of our school, I thank the students body for their understanding and financial contribution towards this project. I remember the difficult times, but collectively we have done it in grand style. This day belongs to you the students. You have a special place in my heart for your support and love towards the development of this great school.

When I cut the sod for this project in 2016, I counted on the students support and commitment of the management to build yet another world class and a strategic asset for the students and this country of ours. Today we are witnesses of that dream having come true.

Once again, I thank the entire university community for the support during my tenure. With the solid foundation built, the university has indeed taken off and is soaring high among its peers. For Africa and the world, UPSA is a university of choice now.

I am proud as an alumnus, a lecturer, Head of Department, a Dean, Pro Rector, Rector and the first Vice Chancellor of this great university.

I thank H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo for accepting the invitation of the school to personally commission this national asset.

I have likewise been invited to the commissioning on Wednesday morning, and God willing, I will be there to witness this special occasion.

UPSA – Scholarship with Professionalism.

God bless UPSA.