A former Managing Director of CalBank, Frank B. Adu Jnr, has been invested as the first Chancellor of the African University of Communications and Business (AUCB), with a pledge to help transform the institution into a digitally driven, industry-connected and financially sustainable university.
At his investiture ceremony in Accra on September 18, 2026, Mr Adu Jnr outlined a five-point vision for the university, comprising digital transformation, industry-embedded education, ethical leadership and communication, a vibrant global alumni network and financial sustainability.
He said the vision was aimed at positioning AUCB to produce graduates equipped with the knowledge, skills, values and practical experience required to contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s development and compete in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.
The ceremony marked a significant milestone in the development of the institution following the granting of a presidential charter to AUCB in December 2024, which gave it autonomy to operate as a fully-fledged university.
World
Mr Adu Jr said the university needed to prepare its students adequately for a rapidly changing world shaped by technology, artificial intelligence, automation, financial technology, new media and entrepreneurship.
His first priority, he said, was digital transformation.
He proposed the establishment of a faculty digital transformation programme for lecturers and an AUCB Analytics and AI Centre to run short professional programmes and undertake analytics and technology transformation projects.
He said digital transformation should not be limited to what students learnt in the classroom but should also influence the way the university operated.
“Corporate life should feel familiar to them.
The technologies and analytical tools they encounter should already be what we know, understand and use.
This will close the distance between lecture halls and corporate spaces,” he said.
His second priority was an industry-embedded education model, which he said would help produce graduates who were ready for the workplace.
Call to service
Representing the Minister of Education, the Director of Tertiary Education Division, Dr Emmanuel Newman, said the investiture of Mr Adu Jnr was not merely the conferment of an honorary title but a call to service, leadership and stewardship.
He said a Chancellor was expected to serve as a source of wisdom and counsel to the university, a bridge between the institution and wider society, and an ambassador of its values and aspirations.
He congratulated Mr Adu Jnr on his appointment, and said his professional experience in banking, business, corporate governance, education and community service would be valuable to the university.
Dr Newman described the history of AUCB as one of institutional transformation, saying the institution had evolved from a specialised communication institution into a broader university offering programmes in communication, business and related areas.
Established in 2002 as the African Institute of Journalism and Communication, the institution later became the African University College of Communications (AUCC) and operated in affiliation with the University of Ghana before attaining its presidential charter in December 2024.
A deliberate choice
The Founder of AUCB, Mr Kojo Yankah, said the selection of Mr Adu Jnr as chancellor was deliberate and reflected the institution’s desire to bring new ideas and energies into its development.
He said although he could have conferred the position of chancellor on himself, he was guided by the African proverb, “Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it.”
Mr Yankah said the baobab tree, which was associated with strength, resilience, versatility and longevity, had influenced the symbolism of the institution.
He said AUCB had reached an important stage in its development following the granting of its charter.
Mr Yankah expressed confidence in Mr Adu Jnr’s ability to contribute to the university’s growth, describing him as intelligent, respectable, inspiring, broad-minded, forward-looking and courageous.
