Smile Afua Gavua Dzisi was born on 18 June 1971, to Rev. Eusebius Kofi Gavua and Mrs Rebecca Dzandu Gavua from Wusuta in the

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi-et ...

of Ghana. She was the first female to be appointed

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

in the history of the Koforidua Polytechnic now Koforidua Technical University. She is the current interim

vice chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of the Koforidua Technical University.

Early life

Professor Smile Dzisi was born 18 June 1971 in Wusuta, in the

of Ghana. She had her basic education at Saviefe Agorkpo, a rural community near Ho in the

. After her basic education, she got admitted at

Mawuli School Mawuli School is a co-educational, boarding senior high school located in Ho in the Ho Municipal district in the Volta Region of Ghana. History The school was founded in 1950 by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. It was the first senior high ...

and obtained her GCE ‘O’ Level and GCE ‘A’ Level certificates. Smile later furthered her education at the

Kwame Nkrumah University of science and Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is a public University of Ghana that focuses on science and technology. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is the public university established in the country, as well a ...

where she received a

Bachelor of Arts degree Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Social Sciences from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. She also received a Master of Public Administration degree from

University of Ghana, Legon The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the B ...

In 2005 she studied for a Doctor of Philosophy in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at

Swinburne University of Technology Swinburne University of Technology (often simply called Swinburne) is a public research university based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1908 as the Eastern Suburbs Technical College by George Swinburne to serve those without access ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Career

Dzisi began her career as a teacher at St. Roses Secondary School at

Akwatia Akwatia is a town in Denkyembour, a district in the Eastern region of south Ghana and west of the Atewa Range in the Birim River basin. Akwatia has a 2013 settlement population of 23,766 people. Akwatia is the main center of diamond extractio ...

. In 1999, she was appointed a Lecturer at Koforidua Polytechnic now Koforidua Technical University. On 1 August 2015, she became the first ever female in the history of Koforidua Technical University to become a rector. She later became the Vice Chancellor of the school and now the

Interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

Vice Chancellor of Koforidua Technical University. She has also held some positions in the school including Head of Marketing, Campus Coordinator, Director of Research and New Programmes, and Acting Deputy Registrar (Academic), Head of Department of Purchasing and Supply. She is a member of the International Society for Professional Innovation Management, and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management. Dzisi is currently the vice chairperson of the Commonwealth Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics, comprising Cameroun, Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia and Sierra Leone.

Honours

Some of the honours received include the Name in Science and Education Award by the Academic Union and the Club of Rectors of Europe, United Kingdom, the 4th Ghana Women of Excellence Award, the Daasebre Silver Jubilee Award for Excellence in Higher Education Management She was appointed as the Vice Chairperson of the Commonwealth Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics at its recently held 52nd meeting in Kenya

Personal life

Professor Dzisi is married to Dr. Stephen Yao Dzisi a medical practitioner with three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzisi, Smile 1971 births Living people Ghanaian academic administrators Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology alumni University of Ghana alumni Mawuli School alumni