‘They said I was too ambitious’- First female pro-vice chancellor of University of Ghana recounts

In a recent interview with Joy News, she revealed that her ambition was often met with skepticism, even from fellow female colleagues.

“It’s funny, people just looked at me as something else, you know, even some of the female lecturers. Oh, she’s too ambitious and like, if you are female, ambition shouldn’t be part of your vocabulary”, she noted.

Prof. Dolphyne clarified that she did not actively pursue the position. Rather, others recognised her leadership potential and nominated her for the role.

“It’s not as if I went and said, oh, I want to be pro-vice chancellor. I mean, people came and said, would you, you know, do you mind if we nominate you to do this and that, because they’ve seen you, the way that you operate, the way you relate to people”, she remarked.

She emphasised that her relationship with students, particularly male students, played a crucial role in her career progression.

“Most of the young men, particularly, just saw me as a mother who had a listening ear for their little problems. You’d be surprised how many felt comfortable opening up to me.

“They would come to me with issues they wouldn’t even discuss with their own friends. They also brought matters they felt were important for the university community, and we would talk through how to resolve them. We went ahead and implemented those solutions together,” she shared

She continued, “I think one of the advantages I had was that male students saw in me a mother figure or elder sister figure they could trust. That trust made them open up about a wide range of issues. And that was part of what helped me rise to that pedestal, the faith and trust they had in me.”

Prof. Dolphyne served the University of Ghana for 36 years, having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the institution in 1958. She later obtained a PhD in Phonetics and Linguistics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, in 1965.