The Office of the Chief of Staff at the Presidency has been officially informed that the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah does not hold the academic title “Professor in any capacity” therefore it is deception on her part and unacceptable to continue claiming such a title on herself.
In an official communication from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to the Presidency, the Commission said it may be compelled to take the appropriate legal action against the Deputy Minister if her employing authority is unable to get her to stop claiming to be a Professor when she has no credentials, according to the laws of Ghana.
GTEC, on its official website has said part of the Commission’s mandate is to evaluate and establish the equivalence of local and foreign qualifications and to assess educational credentials earned from local and other countries into Ghanaian equivalent.
It is based on this assessment that GTEC says it has concluded Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah cannot continue to hold herself as a Professor.
According to GTEC, it had requested from Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah to explain the grounds on which she officially holds herself as a Professor and provide the documentary evidence to prove her claims.
GTEC said, Grace Ayensu-Danquah, through her lawyers wrote back to the Commission to explain that she had been appointed as an Assistant Professor of Surgery by the University of Utah in the United Stated of America.
GTEC noted further that the letter from the lawyers of Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah to back the claim rather proved that she was appointed as an Adjunct Assistant Professor.
GTEC, in its letter to the Chief of Staff over the matter explained that this is unacceptable because an Adjunct Assistant Professor is not a Professor by Ghanaian laws and regulations
Portions of the letter noted:
“Contrary to the assertion in the letter from her solicitors, Dr. Ayensu-Danquah was not appointed as an Assistant Professor but as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, as clearly stated in the letter from the University of Utah. The omission of the word “Adjunct” by her legal representatives is both misleading and troubling.
“According to the letter from Dr. Rockwell, the position of Adjunct Assistant Professor is not a tenure-track role. He further explains that academic position titles used by the University of Utah may not directly correspond to those within Ghana’s academic framework.
“For clarity, within the context of Ghanaian higher education, an Adjunct Assistant Professor is roughly equivalent to a Part-time Lecturer, and not even comparable to the rank of Senior Lecturer, let alone Professor,” the letter stated.
Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, when she faced the Appointments Committee in Parliament, on Friday July 25, 2025, stated on oath that she is a fully certified Professor.
“I am a Professor of surgery at the University of Utah in the United States”, Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah noted in response to a question from Minority Leader Osahen Afenyo-Markin, seeking clarity over her Professorship
She provided further clarity: “I have defended two theses, I have written too many publications, too numerous to count and I have done a lot of research, too numerous to count.
“The American system is completely different from the Ghana system. I am a Professor of surgery. I have been teaching surgery for at least, the last 15 years. Surgery is a skill so we teach in the theater. We do not teach only in the classroom.
“I am a full Professor at the University of Utah and a Professor of Global Surgery per the American College of Surgeons and the American Board of Surgeons. The American College of Surgeons has my name as Professor Ayensu-Danquah. I am a Board-Certified Surgeon, doubly-boarded from the United States of America”, Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah noted to the Committee while speaking on oath and before a live television audience.
