Ebenezer Oduro Owusu

Ebenezer Oduro Owusu (born at Tarkwa, on 11 December 1960) is a Ghanaian entomologist and university administrator who served as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana from 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2021. In this role, he was the principal academic and administrative officer of the university. Owusu is a professor of entomology at the Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science and prior to his appointment as vice-chancellor, he was the provost of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences at the University of Ghana. He is the current president of the Presbyterian University College.

Early life and education Ebenezer Oduro Owusu was born to Ebenezer Owusu Okyere who hails from Mpraeso-Kwahu and Florence Ekua Soma Intsiful (deceased), who was from Elmina.

Career After completing his PhD, Owusu was immediately appointed an assistant professor at Kochi University in April 1995, and then associate professor in September 1995. In March 1996, Owusu was appointed a research fellow at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and was posted to Niger as an entomologist. Significant among his achievements was the development of a system for the management of the millet head miner, Heliocheilus albipunctella (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) based on indigenous plant species, and the host interactions (semiochemicals and use of resistance varieties).

Vice-chancellor He became the one who would replace former vice-chancellor of the University of Ghana, Ernest Aryeetey, who left office in July 2016. The shortlisted candidates for the position of vice-chancellor included Samuel Agyei Mensah (Provost of the College of Humanities), John Gyapong (pro vice chancellor, research and innovation) and Akosua Adomako Ampofo (former director of the Institute of African Studies).

Research Owusu has worked extensively on millet, vegetable, and urban insect pests, especially in the areas of insecticide resistance and the use of indigenous plant materials for the management of major insect pests. He has attracted some funds for research, and in 1999, personally built a laboratory (Food Security) at the University of Ghana for use by staff and students. He was solely responsible for the acquisition and installation of a Scanning Electron Microscope (first of its kind in West Africa, worth US$500,000) through a grant from the Government of Japan. He was also appointed the third president of the Presbyterian University College.