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• Ashesi welcomes class of 2009 (August 2005)
• American and Ashesi students collaborate to distribute 25000 books (August 2005)
• Nina Marini joins Ashesi Board of Trustees (July 2005)
• Ashesi students earn scholarships to the American University of Rome (July 2005)

Ashesi welcomes class of 2009
August 2005

We are very pleased to announce the arrival of the Class of 2009 on campus, starting Monday August 22nd. Standing at 90 strong, this class is the largest yet at Ashesi University. As the public learns more about Ashesi University, demand for an Ashesi education has increased significantly; this year, Ashesi University received 474 applications. The largest class before this was the class of 2007 which had 54 students. 

The class of 2009 is approximately one third women and two-thirds men. Approximately twenty percent are foreign nationals, whose home countries include Benin, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and the United States.

American and Ashesi students collaborate to distribute 25,000 books
August, 2005

Julia Lowe, Anna Spessard and Anisa Ghadrshenas undergraduate student from the University of Washington spent their last semester doing much more the school work – they raised funds to purchase over 25,000 books to distribute to schools around Ghana.  The group of students from the United States established an organization that asks college students at the University of Washington to donate their used textbooks at the end of the year.  The organization collects the books and sells them to a company that in turn provides texts that are shipped to Africa.

The undergraduate students from the United States will be working with Ashesi students over the next two months to help distribute books to 24 primary and secondary schools throughout Ghana.  In addition, 2,000 current college level texts on the subjects of Business and Computer Science will be donated to Ashesi's library collection. 

The University of Washington students chose to work with Ashesi University as their primary contact after learning more about the school’s mission and vision.  Ashesi students are required to complete a minimum of 36 hours of community service before graduation.   A community service requirement helps students develop a sense of citizenship by giving them an opportunity to have a positive impact on their surrounding community.  Ashesi students will help organize and sort the books as well as distribute them to villages in places as far away as the North Eastern Region.

Asked why they decided to spend their time and energy distributing books in Ghana, Julia, one of the American student said, " we believe helping to increase access to education gives people a foundation to make the best decisions for themselves and their community. Education they say is the key to development."

Nina Marini joins Ashesi Board of Trustees
July, 2005

After over six years of service, Ashesi’s Co-Founder, Nina Marini, is shifting her responsibilities from being an employee of the Foundation to becoming a member of the Board of Trustees. 

Nina began her term with Ashesi as a member of the team of students from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in 1998, which conducted the original feasibility study for the university.  Inspired by the passion of the many Ghanaian students she interacted with, and by the clear need for Ashesi’s vision in Ghana, Nina decided to join Patrick Awuah to found Ashesi University after they graduated from business school in 1999. 

Since then, Nina has worked tirelessly to help build Ashesi to its current strength.  As Co-Founder, Nina was instrumental in creating the original business plan for the university, developing curriculum, purchasing land, upgrading facilities, hiring key staff and tracking organizational finances.  Nina has left a solid legacy that she will be able to build upon in her new position as a Trustee.

Nina’s transition completes the process of moving much of our fundraising operations to Ghana.  In addition to achieving a lower cost structure, this move enables us to strengthen our ability to send news from Ghana and build our fundraising capability in Ghana.  We are happy to report that the transition has already yielded significant cost reductions to our fundraising operations.

Our office in Seattle will be run by part-time staff and volunteers, including members of the Board of Trustees.  Nina will continue to work closely with Patrick and other board members in setting strategy, monitoring the university’s performance, and building relationships with our community of supporters.

Ashesi students earn scholarships to the American University of Rome
July, 2005

	Keren Mettle - Nunoo

Kokrobitey Institute’s annual American University of Rome scholarship has been awarded to two students from Ashesi University.  Miss Keren Mettle-Nunoo will be traveling to Rome in August this year to study in Rome for a semester as part of the exchange program. Kokrobitey Institute’s selection panel interviewed students from universities across Ghana and were most impressed with the caliber of students from Ashesi University. The two Ashesi students selected were Abraham Nantogma and Keren Mettle-Nunoo. Mr. Nantogma traveled to Rome in January 2005 and returned from the exchange program in May this year.

According to Dr. Patrick Awuah, President of Ashesi University, students from University of Ghana, KNUST and Ashesi participated in the competition.  All seven finalists -and the two eventual winners-- were Ashesi students.

The winners received full scholarships to attend the American University of Rome (AUR) for a semester, a roundtrip ticket from Accra to Rome, a living stipend and housing with a host family in Rome. Runners up were offered the opportunity to join students from AUR in the “Governance & Democracy Program” run by Kokrobitey Institute in January 2005.

Mr. Nantogma in describing his experience said, “Life is amazing living in an Italian city. Living with a British family and learning in an American University with students from all over the world, it can only be described as a truly international experience. It was a period of fun and discovery, all too short but a memory to last a lifetime.”

Ashesi University’s collaboration with the Kokrobitey Institute and the American University in Rome represents an expansion of Ashesi’s Study Abroad program, which already hosts students from New York University and Western Washington University.

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