Prof Kwansah-Aidoo’s appointment was announced at a meeting held by the Interim Governing Council of UniMAC led by venerable Prof Kwesi Yankah, on May 4.

A statement issued by the Council and copied the Ghana News Agency said before Prof Kwansah-Aidoo’s confirmation to the position, he was appointed the acting Vice-Chancellor by the Council from December 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023.

“He was first appointed on August 1, 2018, as Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) for a four-year term, which was supposed to have expired on July 31, 2022. Before the expiration of his term in July 2022, he applied for an extension as Rector, which was granted for a period of one year,” it said.

The statement said the new appointment which would see Prof Kwansah-Aidoo in office until July 31, 2024, would mean that he would serve five extra months after he turns age 60 because his statutory retirement would be in February 2024.

“Though this is an anomaly in public service, sources close to the university say it is an acceptable practice within Higher Education Institutions because it allows leadership to end with the academic year,” it stated.

The statement said: “It is, therefore, the hope of many both within and outside the university that the substantive appointment of Prof Kwansah-Aidoo for one year will allow him to set the new University on a solid course before the expiration of his long service as Rector from 2018 to Vice Chancellor until 2024.”

The UniMAC is a merger of three public institutions, namely the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), the Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL), and the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) by an act of parliament, Act 2020 (Act 1059).

The statement said some staff and students at the university had congratulated and wished Prof Kwansah-Aidoo the very best in his new appointment.