Swarthmore College President Alfred H. Bloom awarded Ashesi Founder, Patrick Awuah, an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in recognition of his work to promote liberal arts education in Ghana. The presentation was made during Swarthmore’s commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 30th. Mr. Awuah was asked to speak during the ceremony to Swarthmore’s graduating class of 2004. Click here to read a transcript of his full speech.

Mr. Awuah graduated from Swarthmore College in 1989 with degrees in Economics and Engineering. Mr. Awuah credits the education he received at Swarthmore college as a model for the curriculum he helped develop at Ashesi University. Faculty from Swarthmore assisted in the design of Ashesi’s liberal arts core curriculum and currently serve as external examiners for several Ashesi courses. In 2001 Ashesi and Swarthmore College signed a collaborative agreement to work together to develop the liberal arts model in Ghana. Click here to see a video clip of the ceremony.