The University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) community is celebrating a landmark achievement following the appointment of its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako, as Chairman of Vice Chancellors Ghana (VCG), effective 1st August 2026.
This historic appointment marks the first time in the history of the University of Energy and Natural Resources that its Vice-Chancellor has been elected to lead the prestigious association of vice-chancellors in Ghana. It is a proud milestone for UENR, the Bono Region, and Ghana’s higher education sector.
Professor Asare-Bediako succeeds Professor Richard Kwesi Amankwah, the immediate past Chairman of Vice Chancellors Ghana and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mines and Technology. His election reflects the confidence reposed in his visionary leadership, integrity, academic excellence, and unwavering commitment to advancing higher education in Ghana.
Since assuming office as the third Vice-Chancellor of UENR in November 2020, Professor Asare-Bediako has overseen a period of remarkable transformation. Under his stewardship, student enrolment has grown significantly to more than 20,000 students, including over 8,000 first-year students.
The university has expanded its infrastructure, diversified its academic programmes, strengthened research and innovation, and consolidated its reputation as one of Ghana’s fastest-growing public universities and a preferred destination for higher education in Africa.
Widely admired for his humility, accessibility, and servant leadership, Professor Asare-Bediako has fostered a culture of excellence, innovation, collaboration, and accountability. His vision continues to position UENR as a centre of excellence in energy, natural resources, engineering, science, agriculture, environmental sustainability, and entrepreneurship.
An accomplished academic, Professor Asare-Bediako is a Professor of Plant Biology and Plant Protection. Before joining UENR, he served as Dean of the School of Agriculture at the University of Cape Coast from 2014 to 2020.
During his distinguished career at the University of Cape Coast, he held numerous leadership positions, including Liaison Officer for the Students’ Industrial Work Experience Programme (SIWES), Academic Counsellor, Examination Officer, Seminar Coordinator, Academic Advisor, and Faculty Representative on several university committees.
His research specialises in plant virology, plant pathology, integrated pest management, and crop protection, with a particular focus on virus diseases affecting horticultural crops, vegetables, and food crops.
His scientific contributions have significantly enhanced food security through the development of improved cassava varieties resistant to cassava mosaic disease, including white-fleshed and yellow-fleshed, high beta-carotene cassava varieties released for cultivation in Ghana. He also contributed to the development of high-yielding cassava varieties that continue to benefit farmers across the country.
Professor Asare-Bediako has supervised numerous postgraduate students and authored more than fifty peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters covering various aspects of plant virology and plant protection. He has served as a reviewer for several internationally recognised journals, including the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Australasian Plant Pathology, Experimental Agriculture, and the Indian Phytopathology Journal.
Throughout his distinguished career, he has presented research papers at several national and international conferences and workshops and has served on numerous university, national, regional, and international committees.
At the University of Cape Coast, he served on the Academic Board, the Appointments and Promotions Committee, the College Board of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy Committee, the Educational Committee, the Landed Property Committee, and the College of Professors, among many others.
Regionally, Professor Asare-Bediako served on the Committee of Deans and Principals of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), where he later became Chair. He also chaired the eight-member subcommittee established to strengthen collaboration among agricultural deans and principals across Africa and led a technical team under the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) that developed an investment proposal for implementing the Science Agenda for Agriculture in Africa in Ghana.
Nationally, he has contributed significantly to agricultural research and policy through his membership of the Technical Committee on the Development of Ghana’s National Action Plan for the Science Agenda for Agriculture in Africa under the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation. He also served on the Research–Extension–Farmer Linkage Committee of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the Central Region and was a member of the National Best Farmer Awards Selection Team.
Professor Asare-Bediako is the Founding President of the Plant Protection Society of Ghana and belongs to several professional bodies, including the Ghana Science Association, the University Teachers Association of Ghana, the American Phytopathological Society, the British Society for Plant Pathology, and the Association of Applied Biologists.
His outstanding academic career has been recognised through numerous national and international honours and competitive research grants from organisations such as the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the European Union, the Ghana Skills Development Fund, RUFORUM, the Mastercard Foundation, and the University of Cape Coast.
His educational journey began at Poano Methodist Primary School and Bekwai Anglican Primary School before proceeding to Bekwai SDA Secondary School in the Ashanti Region. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in General Agriculture and a Master of Philosophy degree in Crop Science (Plant Pathology) from the University of Cape Coast before earning a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Plant and Environmental Sciences from the University of Warwick.
Professor Asare-Bediako is married to Mrs. Edith Asare-Bediako, and they are blessed with four children.
As Chairman of Vice Chancellors Ghana, Professor Asare-Bediako is expected to provide strategic leadership in strengthening collaboration among Ghana’s public universities, promoting innovation and digital transformation, enhancing quality assurance, and advancing policies that will make Ghana’s higher education system more globally competitive.
The University of Energy and Natural Resources warmly congratulates Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako on this historic achievement. His elevation to this prestigious national office is a testament to his exemplary leadership, integrity, scholarship, and unwavering commitment to excellence.
The entire UENR community wishes him God’s abundant wisdom, strength, and guidance as he leads Vice Chancellors Ghana into a new era of collaboration, innovation, and transformative leadership while continuing to position the University of Energy and Natural Resources as a preferred destination for quality higher education, impactful research, and sustainable development in Africa.
By James Clarke Hayford
(Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations Office, UENR), Sunyani.
