Profile
Obaapanin Adu Oforiwaa is a seasoned university administrator, gender advocate, researcher, and communications professional with over sixteen years of experience in higher education and public engagement. She is the Director of General Administration and Consular Services at the University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC). In this role, she provides strategic leadership for institutional administration, oversees the university’s consular and immigration services, supports governance operations, and ensures the implementation of effective administrative policies and procedures aligned with the vision of UniMAC.
Prior to joining UniMAC in 2024, Dr. Obaapanin Adu Oforiwaa worked at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), where she held varied administrative and academic leadership positions. She served as Director of the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate, Head of the University Relations and Media Office, and Program Officer, Training and Capacity Building. She was instrumental in the development of UEW’s Gender Studies Curriculum, Gender Policy, and Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy.
Dr Obaapanin Adu Oforiwaa holds a professional qualification as a Chartered Professional Administrator and Chartered Management Consultant with the Chartered Institute of Administrators and Management Consultants (CIAMC), Ghana. She also holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) degree from the University of Sussex, Brighton in the United Kingdom, where her doctoral research focused on gender intersectionality and career progression in Ghanaian public universities. She holds an MSc in Development Studies from London South Bank University, a Diploma in Journalism from the Ghana Institute of Journalism, and an Access Certificate in Political Science from Morleys College, UK.
Dr. Adu is a member of several professional and academic associations, including the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), the Association of University Administrators, UK (AUA), the Royal African Society (RAS), the Institute of Development Studies UK, (IDS), and the Society for Research into Higher Education UK, (SRHE). She also serves on the Ministry of Education’s Technical Working Group on Gender and a member of the National Advisory Committee of CAMFED Ghana. She was appointed a Search Committee member by GTEC for the recruitment of management personnel for the Colleges of Education.
Her research interests lie in gender and development, gender intersectionality, educational equity, social inclusion, post-colonial studies, decolonization and decoloniality, and institutional reform. She is currently part of an international, British Academy-funded research project hosted by the University of Sussex, which explores the intersections of gender, education, and work among rural youth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her scholarly work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, with notable titles including:
Publications
- Resilience of the African Girl-Child: From Homemaker to an Academic (2021)
- Creating safety cultures among university administrators: a case study of UEW (2020)
- Women in Higher Education Institutions in Ghana: Discourse on Colonial Legacies and Cultural Norms (2020)
- Working in Higher Education: Senior Female Academics Experiences in Ghana (in progress)
- Gender and Promotions in Higher Education: A case study of UEW (2014)
- A critique of Amina Mama’s Article on gender politics in African higher education (2013)
- Waking up Higher Education Institutions for Post-2015 (2013)
- Impact of Scholarship Schemes on Beneficiaries: Case of UEW/Carnegie Scholarship (2013)
- Factors influencing Science and Mathematics career choice among female students, UEW (2012)
Reports
- Assessment report on the Maiden Investiture Ceremony, UniMAC (2025)
- Managing Gender-based Violence at NC A&T State University: Lessons for UEW (2015)
Book
- The Gender Handbook for Teaching Practice Mentors (2018) – Joint Peer Reviewer
Proposals
- Proposal for restructuring UEW's Division of Publications and Communication (2019)
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A) Gender Studies programme submitted to UEW (2016)
Grants and Awards
Dr. Adu has been part of a team that won grants of $500,000 and $514,000 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York for gender mainstreaming initiatives at UEW. She also led a team to secure funding from Pent Asset and Wealth Management, Ghana, for scholarships to UEW students. Her leadership led to the development of anti-sexual harassment and gender equality policies, and scholarship awards to needy but brilliant female Science students. In 2019, she received the Best Worker Award (Senior Members’ Category) from UEW.
Teaching and Mentorship
In addition to her administrative duties, Dr. Adu teaches "Public Relations and International Relations and Disability" as a part-time senior lecturer. She mentors students and young professionals, especially women, in academic writing, professional development, and confidence-building. Her leadership emphasizes excellence, inclusion, and transformational change across academic environments in Ghana and beyond.