Dress Code Controversy Lecturer Wins Award

Dr. Samuel Kwesi Asiedu-Addo, who stirred a controversy earlier in the year by insisting on a dress code for students of his department at the University of Education, Winneba, has been awarded by the university as best lecturer in the sciences. A citation was read for him at the University�s 14th graduation ceremony, which citation eulogized Dr. Asiedu-Addo for integrating research work into his teaching and guiding his students to �develop adequate interest to investigate scientific phenomena using mathematics.� �In his teaching, Dr. Asiedu-Addo does not only want his students to acquire a solid understanding of the various facts and techniques of mathematics, but also to be able to apply mathematics to solve problems that are related to mathematical methods, models and techniques.� He joined the UEW from the University of Cape Coast in 1997 and �Due to hard work, he was appointed Head of Department that very year (1997).� In an interview with newsmen, Dr. Asiedu-Addo said he was grateful to receive the award and that he believed everything he was doing was closely monitored by people. This award will go a long way to enhance my image, he added. He believed if one is hard working, he would be rewarded for his good deeds. Dr. Asiedu-Addo was born in Amanasi, a small village near Suhum in the Eastern Region of Ghana in 1962. He attended Amansi Local Authority Primary School and continued at Aggrey Memorial Middle School in Sekondi in 1974. After successfully passing his common entrance examination in form two, he gained admission to Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) in Takoradi in 1976. He is a total GIANT (Old student of GSTS) as he obtained both his Ordinary and Advanced level certificates in 1981 and 1983 respectively. In GSTS, Addo-Ray as he was affectionately called was very active not only in the academic field but also in extra-curricular activities. He was a member of the school's cadet corps, school choir and the school football team. Due to his commitment and dedication to his Alma matter, he became the President of the School Choir and the Captain of the school football team in his senior years. In 1984, Dr. Asiedu-Addo was awarded Ghana Government Scholarship soon after his A-level to continue his studies at Kishinev State University in Moldova in the former Soviet Union. Once again, his commitment and dedication to serve people manifested as he be-came the Vice President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) a Kishinev State University in 1988. Dr. Asiedu-Addo excelled in all the courses he read and obtained his masters degree in mathematics in 1990. As a patriotic citizen of Ghana, he returned home immediately after his masters' degree programme and did National Service at GB Olivant Company (now UNILIVER). In 1992, Dr. Asiedu-Addo took up an appointment as an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Mathematics, University of Cape Coast (UCC). In that very year, the University of Education (UEW) was established and he extended his services to UEW as a part time lecturer from 1992 till 1997. By this singular act, he is among the few pioneers who helped to establish the Department of Mathematics Education in UEW. In 1993, he enrolled in Post Graduate programme at UCC and obtained his Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in 1995. In 1997 Dr. Asiedu-Addo transferred his services from UCC to UEW as a full time lecturer to strengthen the staffing position of the department Due to hard work, he was appointed Head of Department that very year (1997). In 2001 he had an invitation to the University of Vermont, USA as a Visiting Scholar in conjunction with his PhD Program at the National Center for Mathematical Sciences. Consequently, he was awarded Ghana Government scholarship to enable him to continue his PhD research on Mathematical Modeling of Aerosol Deposition in the Human Respiratory Tract under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Bentil. Whilst honouring this invitation, he was offered the position of a part time lecturer at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Vermont from 2002 to 2005. In 2003, he was appointed Director of Living! Learning Center at the University of Vermont and was nominated for the Best Director award in 2004 due to his outstanding organizational skills. 1 n 2005 he returned to Ghana and to his mother University (UEW) immediately after completing his PhD thesis research in the USA to serve his motherland, as a patriotic citizen and in 2006, he was promoted to the rank of senior lecturer. Dr. Asiedu-Addo has taught several courses at both under-graduate and post-graduate levels including Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equations, Calculus, Probability, Statistics, Abstract Algebra, Mathematical Modeling, Statistical Models and Experimental Design. In his teaching, Dr. Asiedu-Addo does not only want his students to acquire a solid understanding of the various facts and techniques of mathematics, but also to be able to apply mathematics to solve problems that are related to mathematical methods, models and techniques. This is where the chance to integrate research work into his teaching comes into play. His strategy here is to guide his students so that they will develop adequate interest to investigate scientific phenomena using mathematics. Dr. Asiedu-Addo believes that looking at a mathematical problem in as many ways as possible leads to a better understanding; hence the use of technology in the classroom forms an integral part of his learning environment He recognizes that technology is important in the classroom since it is a vehicle for instruction and can be an individual tool for addressing different learning styles and strategies. As part of strategies in motivating students in the learning of mathematics and to raise the image of the teaching profession, Dr. Asiedu-Addo has suggested for the use of decent attire for classes in the universities and institutions of higher learning which students overwhelmingly embraced since 2005. His on-going research activities include: deposition of aerosol particles in the human respiratory tract and its impact on asthmatics, integration of ICT in the teaching and learning of mathematics Dr. Asiedu-Addo is an author to number books for both tertiary and second cycle institutions and has published several articles in reputable refereed journals. In 2005, together with Prof. Daniel Bentil, you donated textbooks worth over two thousand Ghana Cedis to the Science library after his PhD programme in the USA. The books include Calculus, Statistics, Probability, Algebra and Functional Analysis. He has attended several National and International Conferences and Workshops and being a team player, has interacted with several academics and researchers from the Netherlards, Germany, USA and Nigeria. In 2005 he won an award; Modem-Day Technology Leader at the 1 gm Annual Black Engineer of the year awards conference, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Dr. Asiedu- Addo has served as a resource person at many conferences and workshops including Annual Workshops of the Mathematical Association of Ghana. Currently, Dr.Asiedu-Addo is the National President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the National Vice President of the Mathematical Association of Ghana (MAG). Dr. Asiedu-Addo is happily married to Joyce with three children (a daughter and two sons).