Amoakohene Takes Over As Director Of SCS

Dr Margaret IvyAmoakohene-New Director of SCS

Dr. Margaret Ivy Amoakohene, a Senior Lecturer at the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, has been appointed Director of the school, effective August 1, 2010.

Dr. Amoakohene takes over from Dr. Audrey Gadzekpo, also a senior lecture at the school who is going on sabbatical leave.

The School of Communication Studies is a graduate school of offering Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil) courses in Communication.

Born on July 17, 1960 at Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region, Margaret Ivy Amoakohene is a native of Nsawkaw in the Tain District of the same region.

She had her secondary education at St. Francis Secondary School, Jirapa in the Upper West Region of Ghana, where she obtained her GCE Ordinary Level certificate.

She continued her secondary education and obtained her GCE Advanced Level certificate at St. Louis Secondary School, Kumasi, after which she gained admission to the University of Ghana in 1981.

Margaret Amoakohene holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Mass Communication from the University of Leicester, England, where she pursued doctoral studies at the Department of Media and Communications.

Her doctoral thesis was titled, 'Political Communication in an Emerging Democracy: A Comparative Analysis of Media Coverage of Two Presidential Administrations in the Fourth Republic of Ghana'.

She also possesses a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree and a Post-graduate Diploma in Communication Studies as well as a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Honours degree in French and Spanish from the University of Ghana, where she has since September 1992 lectured in Public Relations, Qualitative Research Methods and Mass Communication.

Dr. Amoakohene has held many positions both in the University of Ghana and Ghana as a whole, serving on several boards and committees including the following:

Senior Tutor – Mensah Sarbah Hall
Chairperson – Tutorial Board, Mensah Sarbah Hall
Board Member – Residence Board
Member – Board of the Faculty of Social Studies
Member – Academic Board
Treasurer- University Teachers' Association of Ghana (UTAG), Legon.

She has actively participated in national discussions and debates. She previously served on the National Media Commission (NMC) and the Board of the Ghana News Agency (GNA). She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI).

She has also served as Honorary Secretary, and Vice-President of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Ghana.

Dr. Amoakohene is the immediate past Ghana High Commissioner to Canada, serving the country in Ottawa from July 2006 to February 2009.

In furtherance of her academic career and research interests, Dr Amoakohene has participated in and presented papers on various aspects of communication, the environment, the media, public relations, politics, governance, women and gender at many seminars and conferences, both nationally and internationally. Her publications include the following:

i. Ghana: Media and Democracy in 50 Years of Independence. In Korbla P. Puplampu and Wisdom J. Tettey (Eds.), The Public Sphere and the Politics of Survival in Ghana. Accra: Woeli Publishing, 2008.

ii. Advertising and Sponsorship Trends in the Ghanaian Electronic Media – An Assessment, Ghana Social Science Journal, 3(1&2), 2005, pp. 67-90. [ISSN 0855-4730].

iii. Focus Group Research: Towards an Applicable Model for Africa. In K. Kwansah-Aidoo (Ed.), Topical Issues in Communications and Media Research, New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 2005, pp. 173-197. [ISBN: 1594542791].

iv. Researching Radio Audiences in an Emerging Pluralistic Media Environment: A Case for the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Method. African Media Review, 12(2), 2004, pp. 25-40 [ISSN 0258-4913].

v. Violence against Women in Ghana: A look at Women's Perceptions and Review of Policy and Social Responses. Social Science & Medicine 59, 2004, pp. 2373-2385.

vi. Police Public Relations in a Democratic Environment. In The Face and Phases of the Ghana Police. Accra: Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), 2002, pp. 71-91. [ISBN: 9988-8153-0-1].

vii. Public Relations and the Law. In K. Karikari & K. Kumado (Eds.), The Law and the Media in Ghana. Legon: School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, 2000, pp 202-215 [ISBN: 9988-8020-0-5].

Serving as a member of the editorial board of the Media Monitor, Margaret Amoakohene also published the following articles:

1. Amoakohene Margaret I. (July-September, 1996). Kufuor heard loud but not clear, Media Monitor, 4:9-10.

2. Amoakohene Margaret I. (October, 1995). The environment: How much media reporting? Media Monitor, 1:17, 18, & 25.