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Honorary doctorate in Commerce for SG of the African Research Universities Alliance
Author: Ronél Beukes
Published: 07/11/2022

​​The Faculty is delighted that Prof Ernest Aryeetey, the founding secretary-general of the African Research Universities Alliance, is one of the distinguished individuals who will receive honorary doctorates from Stellenbosch University this year.

Prof Aryeetey will be awarded the degree Doctor of Commerce (DCom), honoris causa at the University's end-of-year graduation week, which takes place from 5 to 9 December 2022.

The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Aryeetey is the founding secretary-general of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), a network of universities that focus on building research capacity on the continent. Following the establishment of ARUA, he spearheaded the identification of 13 research areas to facilitate interdisciplinary research collaboration and created 11 ARUA centres of excellence. 

Prof Wim de Villiers, SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor, said “The recipients of honorary doctorates this year are exceptional individuals who have contributed significantly not only to their immediate communities, but also to the world at large. Their achievements speak for themselves, and the University is proud to be associated with them."

Prior to his appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Aryeetey was a senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. He was also director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, Legon (2003 – 2010).

Prof Aryeetey has published books about financial integration and development in Sub-Saharan Africa and economic reforms in Ghana. His book with Ravi Kanbur on “The Economy of Ghana Sixty Years after Independence" published by Oxford University Press in 2017 is one of his best known publications. He was the second recipient of the Michael Bruno Award of the World Bank to become a visiting scholar for May–October 1998.