Eric Danquah
Professor of plant molecular genetics at the University of Ghana

DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire will highlight the university's diverse and surprising ties to the West African country of Ghana and feature three scholars from the University of Ghana in the 2010 Saul O Sidore Memorial Lecture Series "The Ghana Connection."

The series runs April 6-8, 2010. All lectures are free and open to the public.

UNH has ties to Ghana in areas such as study abroad development, African Studies, microenterprise programs, student nursing projects and ocean research.

Eric Danquah, professor of plant molecular genetics at the University of Ghana, will present his research on developing new crop varieties for a hungry world. Danquah is the first director of West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, an institution established in June 2007 to train a new generation of plant breeders for the West African sub-region. His research focuses on using genetics to facilitate crop improvement and to understand how plant diversity can be used in pest control.

Music in West Africa will be the topic of Moses Nii-Dortey's lecture. As a research fellow in the Institute of African Studies as the University of Ghana, he focuses on music and religious ritual as well as contemporary African orchestra music and the analysis of a nearly-lost African folk opera.

Takyiwaa Manuh, professor and former director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, will lecture on women's empowerment in West Africa. Her numerous publications reflect her research in women's rights, development, contemporary African migrations, and higher education in Africa.

The lectures are scheduled as follows: Eric Danquah, Tuesday, April 6, 2-4 p.m. in the Memorial Union Building Theater II; Moses Nii-Dortey, Wednesday, April 7, 2 - 4 p.m. in Huddleston Hall with a reception following the lecture; and Takyiwaa Manuh, Thursday, April 8 from 2 - 4 p.m. in Memorial Union Building Theater II.

The Saul O Sidore Memorial Lecture Series was established in 1965 in memory of Saul O Sidore of Manchester, New Hampshire. The purpose of the series is to offer the University community and the state of New Hampshire programs that raise critical and sometimes controversial issues facing our society. For more information go to www.unh.edu/humanities-center or call 862-4356.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling more than 12,200 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

PHOTOS
Eric Danquah
Professor of plant molecular genetics at the University of Ghana
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Moses Nii-Dortey
Research fellow in the Institute of African Studies as the University of Ghana
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Takyiwaa Manuh
Professor and former director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana
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