ASU engineering professor Mark Henderson in Ghana. Courtesy photo.
The Fulton Schools faculty is connecting globally to help educate a new generation of engineers. This fall Ashesi University in Ghana, West Africa, welcomed its inaugural class of engineering students. Mark Henderson, a professor in engineering and manufacturing engineering in the Polytechnic School and associate dean of Barrett, The Honors College, serves on the advisory board and has helped develop the curriculum.
Ashesi University was founded in 2002 by Patrick Awuah, now its president. Awuah, a native of Ghana, was educated at American universities and began a successful career as a Microsoft engineer, but a vision for better higher education in Ghana drew him home. He was recently named a MacArthur Fellow.
Henderson founded the ASU Global Engineering Design Team and is co-founder and director of GlobalResolve, a social entrepreneurship program with projects in several countries—including Ghana—to help villages solve problems in water, sanitation, agriculture, health and energy and use those solutions to help establish sustainable business ventures. He is passionate about humanitarian engineering and entrepreneurship, and Ashesi sought him out for his experience in this area. The university has in its mission to educate ethical, entrepreneurial leaders in Africa who have a “true concern for others” and for society.
Suzanne Buchele, Ashesi University associate provost, in a note to the advisory board members, thanked them for their advice and support that was invaluable in getting the program established and accredited.
