Prempeh.org's report/review (written by H. Ofori, Prempeh.org Staff writer) of Dr. Achampong's new book is presented below.
This was also featured in a past edition of our Prestige Magazine, which is still available online.
AMANFOO LAW: Setting a trend in American jurisprudence
President Bill Clinton can harbor into retirement now, safe in the knowledge that his lawyers can more than ever put their shoulder
to the wheel on any drumfire of sexual harrasment allegations made against their client
in the future, thanks to a celebrious book recently introduced into the corpus of American jurisprudence.
The book which is entitled Workplace Sexual Harassment Law and published by the
Greenwood Publishing Group, is written by Dr. Francis Achampong of the Prempeh College Class of '73.
This headmost textbook on sexual harrasment law is read by all lawyers and judges in a nation scourged by many frivolous lawsuits as well as harassment of women in offices for romantic favours.
It has become the champion book which judges read in their chambers to enable them reach the best decisions in court room cases around the world. Further, the book examines the principles,
landmark developments and framework for effective risk management in the workplace which all employers and employees can depend on.
Dr. Achampong's is the only work that devotes several chapters to landmark developments such
as third-party and same-sex sexual harassment and the only one that goes beyond merely
discussing workplace harassment prevention to discussing risk management of liability for sexual harassment.
It also discusses esoteric rules that apply to federal sector sexual harassment complainants.
Sharpy, as he was known in Freeman House, was at the time Chair of the Department of Entrepreneural Studies and professor
of Business Law and Insurance at Norfolk State University's Business School, one of about
300 business schools accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB).
He entered Prempeh at age 11, so adjusting to a boarding school was difficult for Sharpy.
His mother was a midwife in Kumasi, and one of her patients was the wife of Mr. Osae, the headmaster. So, he boldly asked Headmaster Osae if he could be a day student.
Since only expatriates were allowed to be day students for dietary reasons during those day, Mr. Osae replied that Senior Achampong's father will still have to pay boarding fees.
So, without asking his dad first, he took him (The Headmaster) up on his offer. He had a bed in his dorm in Freeman, a suitcase, and a "chopbox." But he could also go home whenever he wanted. The other students called him "the amphibian." He later got my nickname (Sharpy) from a House Prefect called Senior Adu.
Just like many nicknames at Sofoline, "Sharpy" became so popular that many people didn't even know his real name. Later, a lot of juniors called him "senior Sharpy" without knowing his real name.
At the Kings College, Sharpy took piano lessons with Mr. Boama (Osukunii). He was always tempted to play pop music by ear, though, so he hardly practiced the notes he was supposed to learn.
Once, Osukunii caught him playing a Beatles song. He exclaimed, "You're playing jazz?" Sometimes, Senior Achampong would take some of his Sixth-form mates to the basement in the Osae Assembly Hall, and entertain them with pop music.
Dr. Achampong was also a keen "miner" at Katanga. In fact, he was one of the many Freemanites who used to hold mining competitions at Katanga classroom block to select "capa" champions.
They used to compete to see who could outlast everybody in the act of mining (burning the midnight oil).
Sharpy remembers the early morning bell, how he had to do his chores as a "scavenger" at Freeman House picking up litter, and the mandatory siestas. The discipline he got from these routines, including bed inspections, he says, "definitely gave me an advantage in college and graduate school.
I could always manage my time well. We learned respect from calling those ahead of us 'senior,' and carrying their cutlery to the dining hall."
It was in those days that students, if they knew they were going to have plantains and beans, would even try to express their anticipation of Prempeh's favourite meal in Latin as they walked to the dining hall by telling their friends "Hodie, kekee et bansam habemus!"
"Prempeh gave me a solid, rigorous, and competitive education. It equipped me to compete successfully with many other people from other places in Ghana and the world. At Legon, the University of London, and Georgetown University, I did well because of the sound foundation my academic preparation was built upon. I was able to pass the New York and Virginia Bars the very first time I took them, even though I did not receive my primary legal education here. You may have heard that John F. Kennedy Jr. (God rest his soul), a Harvard Law School graduate, had to take the New York Bar three times before passing it. I had no idea that the three years of Latin I took at Prempeh would one day enhance my study of the law, where a lot of concepts and remedies have Latin names," he went on to say.
Also, he is currently the Director of Academic Affairs at the Pennsylvania State University, Mont Alto,
where he is second in command at the University.
Achampong was Consulting Editor with the Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, he
is listed with the Technical Advisory Service for Attorneys as an insurance expert and appears in Who's Who in American Law.
He has represented Firms like Crowell and Moring,
Washington, D.C., Clark and Stant, Virginia Beach, Virginia. He wrote and received funding for a two-year, $87,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the period 1998-2000 to Strengthen the Study of International Business, Foreign Languages, and Foreign Culture at Norfolk State University. Further,
he has held offices with scholarly journals: Consulting Editor, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (1996-98),
Articles Reviewer, Journal of Legal Studies in Business and
Articles Reviewer, Journal of Business Ethics.
[Dr. Achampong's curriculum vita is available here. (Microsoft Word document)]
One of his fondest memories is the excitement of the athletic competitions with the
other schools in the Ashanti region at the Kumasi Sports Stadium. It was at one of
the competitions that he saw a gorgeous sprinter from Saint Louis Girls' School. Since he was a bookworm, and stayed "green" by choice, she was
the first girl Sharpy ever kissed, even though he was already in Lower Sixth! They became
friends for life.
He also remember morning worship, the hymns, and lower-sixth students
reading the lessons. "Prempeh not only fed our minds and stomachs, but also our souls. My faith in God began there, and up to this day, I still love the Lord Jesus, and actively serve at my local church. I couldn't have achieved much if the Lord hadn't blessed me with talent, opportunities, and sheer grace. If you consider the violence and other serious problems in public schools in the United States, where it is unconstitutional to teach the fear of God, it gives you a greater appreciation of the way we were trained at Prempeh," Sharpy said.
His best friend at Prempeh was Patrick Donkor (Pataku), who is now a Captain in the military.
They were both in the same dorm room in the Great Freeman house.
And when he started dating, the Saint Louis Athlete mentioned earlier, her dad came to the Prempeh campus to have a little chat with Sharpy.
Of course, not knowing exactly what the old man had in mind, Sharpy was afraid to oblige. Instead of approaching the girl's father at the administration, Sharpy sent Pataku to talk to him first to see if he was a nice man. He eventually met him much later.
Sexual harassment is one of the most problematic issues in the American workplace and one
that has captured much media attention following a number of high-profile lawsuits and
congressional hearings. Dr. Achampong has been featured in several press reports, icluding
the Business Insurance. He was interviewed several times during the Clinton-Lewinsky saga.
Sharpy still credits his Prempeh College A-level history teacher, Mr. Asare-Kwaa, whom they nicknamed Al Fazari. He said, "Al Fazari was articulate and impressive. At age 18, when I sat for the A-levels, I could regurgitate impressive historical analyses such as 'The atrocities Sumanguru perpetrated against the Mandinkas alienated them very much and soon brought about his downfall.' Naturally, I got an A in history."
In fact, The Reverend Nyarko (Osofo) talked him into studying A-level French because he told him he wanted to become an international lawyer one day. Everyone said that French was too hard and that Senior Sharpy would fail, but he went on to prove them all wrong. "I had good teachers, though, including Monsieur Courrent, a Frenchman from Toulouse. I picked up his accent, and managed to get a B in both written and oral French.
The University of London administered the French A-level exams at that time," he concluded.
In 1976 he earned a LL.B (Magna Cum Laude) from The University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
He also holds a PhD in Law and a LL.M from the University of London as well as a LL.M from Geogetown University Law School.
Dr. Achampong was born in Kumasi, where his dad was a pharmacist, and my mum was a midwife. He grew up at Asokwa Residential area,
near the Kumasi Sports Stadium, where he went and saw many Kotoko matches.
Before he became Nana Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, the late Asantehene, then Lawyer J.M. Poku, lived in the same area. Sharpy actually went and saw a few Kotoko games with his daughter, Leslie Pearl Poku, who loved football, and would never accept any color "alewa" from a vendor except a red (Kotoko colour) one. They both attended the University of Science and Technology Primary School.
Sharpy is presently married to a beautiful lady from Trinidad and Tobago by the name of Nicole Victoria, and they have a four-month old daughter called Alexandra Danielle Ajoa.
President Bill Clinton can harbor into retirement now, safe in the knowledge that his lawyers can more than ever put their shoulder
to the wheel on any drumfire of sexual harrasment allegations made against their client
in the future, thanks to a celebrious book recently introduced into the corpus of American jurisprudence.
Dr. Achampong's is the only work that devotes several chapters to landmark developments such
as third-party and same-sex sexual harassment and the only one that goes beyond merely
discussing workplace harassment prevention to discussing risk management of liability for sexual harassment.
It also discusses esoteric rules that apply to federal sector sexual harassment complainants.
At the Kings College, Sharpy took piano lessons with Mr. Boama (Osukunii). He was always tempted to play pop music by ear, though, so he hardly practiced the notes he was supposed to learn.
Once, Osukunii caught him playing a Beatles song. He exclaimed, "You're playing jazz?" Sometimes, Senior Achampong would take some of his Sixth-form mates to the basement in the Osae Assembly Hall, and entertain them with pop music.
"Prempeh gave me a solid, rigorous, and competitive education. It equipped me to compete successfully with many other people from other places in Ghana and the world. At Legon, the University of London, and Georgetown University, I did well because of the sound foundation my academic preparation was built upon. I was able to pass the New York and Virginia Bars the very first time I took them, even though I did not receive my primary legal education here. You may have heard that John F. Kennedy Jr. (God rest his soul), a Harvard Law School graduate, had to take the New York Bar three times before passing it. I had no idea that the three years of Latin I took at Prempeh would one day enhance my study of the law, where a lot of concepts and remedies have Latin names," he went on to say.
One of his fondest memories is the excitement of the athletic competitions with the
other schools in the Ashanti region at the Kumasi Sports Stadium. It was at one of
the competitions that he saw a gorgeous sprinter from Saint Louis Girls' School. Since he was a bookworm, and stayed "green" by choice, she was
the first girl Sharpy ever kissed, even though he was already in Lower Sixth! They became
friends for life. 
His best friend at Prempeh was Patrick Donkor (Pataku), who is now a Captain in the military.
They were both in the same dorm room in the Great Freeman house.
And when he started dating, the Saint Louis Athlete mentioned earlier, her dad came to the Prempeh campus to have a little chat with Sharpy.
Of course, not knowing exactly what the old man had in mind, Sharpy was afraid to oblige. Instead of approaching the girl's father at the administration, Sharpy sent Pataku to talk to him first to see if he was a nice man. He eventually met him much later.
that has captured much media attention following a number of high-profile lawsuits and
congressional hearings. Dr. Achampong has been featured in several press reports, icluding
the Business Insurance. He was interviewed several times during the Clinton-Lewinsky saga.