The University of Cape Coast (UCC) Governing Council at its Special Meeting held on Thursday,19th December, 2024, appointed Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto, as the new Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University with effect from 1st January, 2025.
Prof. Aheto, who takes over from Prof. Rosemond Aboagyewaa Boohene, is a professor of Coastal Ecology and Interdisciplinary Ocean Studies.
He is currently the Director of Centre for Coastal Management/ Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR).
Profile of Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto
- Born on 1 April, 1972 at Nsawam in the Eastern Region
- Hails from Adutor in the Volta Region
- Completed O’ Level in 1990 at St. Martins’ Secondary School, Nsawam
- Had A’ Level in 1992 at the Pope Johns’ Secondary School, Koforidua
- Obtained Bsc. (Hons) Degree in Biological Sciences and a Diploma in Education in 1998 at the University of Cape Coast (UCC)
- Worked as a Teaching Assistant at the then Department of Botany at the UCC from 1998-99
- Served Ghana Education Service as a Biology Teacher at the St. Augustine’s College in 1999
- Completed his master’s degree in Rural Development Studies at the Swedish Agricultural University in Uppsala in 2002.
- Had MSc. Degree in International Studies in Tropical Aquatic Ecology at the Centre for Tropical Marine Ecology in 2004
- Obtained a PhD Degree in Environmental Science at the Center for Environment and Technology at the University of Bremen, Germany, in 2008
- Appointed as a lecturer at the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (DFAS) at UCC in 2009
- Appointed as Casford Hall Tutor in 2010
- Promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2012 and appointed as Head of DFAS in the same year
- During his term of office as Head of DFAS, he led the formal establishment of the Centre for Coastal Management in 2013 and was appointed its first Director in 2016 till date.
- Published over 50 peer reviewed academic papers in reputable journals over a period of 14 years
- His standing as an accomplished academic is further demonstrated in the number of organisations interested in funding his research and these include World Bank, among others
- Staunch Catholic and his hobbies include music, travelling and family leisure time
- Married to Mrs. Cythia Aheto and they are blessed with a son, Arnold Sefa Aheto
- Promoted to Associate Professor in 2017
- Promoted to full-fledged Professor in 2020
- Appointed as a visiting professor at the Faculty of Environment of the University of Waterloo in Canada in 2023
Source: Documentation and Information Section