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Ashesi Spring Celebration 2003

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE SPEECH BY PAUL MARITZ, ASHESI DONOR

Paul Maritz, an early donor to Ashesi, described his impressions about Ghana and Ashesi University from a recent visit to Ghana. In his speech, Paul described how he had come from first questioning whether creating a new university was the right place to start addressing Africa's problems, to recently coming to believe that "Ashesi University is one of the most important things happening in Africa today." And as is if to punctuate his conviction, Paul expressed his belief that over the next 15 - 20 years, many people will come to see Ashesi's founder, Patrick Awuah, the same way that they see African leaders like Graça Machel and Nelson Mandela.

As Paul explained, the reason for his initial scepticism about Ashesi was his fear that the proposed new university would merely train technicians who would then leave Africa, thus contributing to the brain drain. Instead, what he has observed happening at Ashesi University is a much broader education, with a commitment to nurturing civic-minded leaders. During his recent visit to Ghana, Paul was impressed by the number of young Ghanaians he met who were as bright and energetic as engineers in Silicon Valley. He was also struck by the atmosphere at Ashesi University. In his words, "As you walk through the gates of Ashesi University, you immediately feel that you are in a different and very special place." He went on to describe a sense of "passion" for the work that was being done from those he met on Ashesi's campus, and he encouraged everyone in the room to travel to Ghana to see what was being created.

Paul Maritz recently retired as Group Vice President at Microsoft after 14 years at the company. At Microsoft he managed major parts of the company's software business, including the development and marketing of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, as well as Microsoft's Internet, Development Tools and Database efforts. He is a native of Zimbabwe, and a graduate of the Universities of Cape Town and Natal in South Africa.