Prof Adu-Oppong, whose appointment took effect in the later part of August 2016, took over from Mr Isaac Azindow who retired after almost 25 years of dedicated and meritorious service to the College.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Kintampo in the Brong-Ahafo Region, Prof Adu-Oppong said the institution was in transition to become a health university, saying the immediate challenge was for both staff and students to work harder to attain high academic standards towards achieving that goal.

He advised teenagers, adolescents and the youth in the country’s rural farming communities to be well-focused for success in life since to become responsible adults, accomplished and successful professionals of any field of human endeavour was determined by commitment to task and hard work.     

“I am glad to be back home in Kintampo and being part of the College of Health family as that is a dream come through and hope that my presence will serve as a motivation for the children growing on farmland in the region”.

He said children residing in farming communities must be motivated by their circumstances to concentrate seriously on their education to attain greater heights in life because “being on a farm is not a sentence for deprivation and success is not measured by the heights one attain in society but by the depth that you have risen from”.

Prof. Adu-Oppong, a native of Kranka in the Nkoranza North District of the Brong Ahafo Region, was brought up in a small farming community at Kwadua in the Kintampo North Municipality established by his parents Alhaji Alhassan Oppong and Hajia Mariama Fabeah.

He had his primary education at Kwadua and later at the Kintampo Methodist Middle School where at form two he passed the common entrance examination to proceed to the Sunyani Secondar for the Ordinary and Advanced Level certificates. 

Prof. Adu-Oppong migrated to the United States of America (USA) where he obtained his Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Microbiology and Biochemistry from the University of Texas, Arlington and received Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Texas Health Science Centre in Houston in Public Health “with concentration in Management, Policy Science and Community Health”.

He did his Administrative Fellowship with the Texas Department of Heath attached to the State Legislature in Health issues working with the then Governor of Texas, now ex-president George Walker Bush Junior.  Prof. Adu-Oppong holds three masters degrees in Science (MSc), University of Houston Clear Lake in “Biology with concentration in Molecular Biology, Health Care Administration with concentration in Community and Hospital Administration and Business Administration with concentration in Public Administration.

Before joining the UCC School of Medical Sciences team to establish the school, Prof. Adu-Oppong was an Assistant Professor at Georgia Southern University in Georgia, USA where he served in the capacity as the Director of Doctorial Programmes at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health.

He is the founder and the Executive Director of Sankofa Health Incorporated, a community-based non-profit agency helping to develop HIV/AIDS prevention capacity and health-care infrastructure to treat HIV patients in developing countries. Prof-Adu-Oppong also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Street Clinic in Houston, and his experiences include international consulting on Health Care Infrastructure, capacity building for governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Prof-Adu-Oppong has received several awards including HIV/AIDS Leadership Excellence from the Harris Country Commissioner, YMCA Leadership Award 2005, YMCA Minority Achiever 2002 and Urban League Scholastic Award 1998.

He is the author of over 30 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, posters and book chapters while his research interests includes HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment Modalities, Health Care Financial Economics, TB and Malaria prevention in developing countries, healthcare delivery models, access to care, utilisation and infrastructure assessments.

Prof Adu-Oppong is a member of the Medical Group Management Association, American College of Health Care Executives, American Society of Clinical Pathologists and National Public Health Association. Prof Adu-Oppong is married to Mrs Akua Ahyia Adu-Oppong with seven children.