Dr. Peter Donkor is new Provost of KNUST College of Health Sciences
Friday, December 7, 2006
The KNUST University Council has appointed Professor Peter Donkor as the second Provost of the College of Health Sciences. He succeeds Professor Kwame Sarpong, foundation Provost of the College, whose term of office has ended.
Professor Peter Donkor was born on 16th September, 1954 in Kumasi to the late Mrs Margaret Donkor (nee Akua Ataa) and the late Opanin Kwaku Donkor, both from Nyameani in the Ashanti Region. He attended primary school at the New Tafo Local Authority Primary School, Kumasi, before entering Prempeh College in 1968 for his secondary education, which he completed in 1975. He proceeded to the University of Sydney, Australia from where he obtained his first degree, Bachelor of Dental Surgery, in 1981. Following his housemanship at the Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Professor Donkor came back to Ghana and worked for a short while at the Dunkwa-on-Offin Government Hospital from 1983-1986 before embarking on postgraduate studies at the University of London, U.K., the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the University of Sydney, Australia, and the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. He is qualified in both Public Health and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Professor Donkor has practiced as a specialist and taught undergraduates and surgical trainees in the University of Sydney, Australia and the University of Birmingham, U.K. He joined the Department of Surgery, KNUST in 1995 as a Senior Lecturer and has since been teaching surgery of the mouth, face, jaws, head and neck. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 2000. He has also been actively involved in the training of medical/dental interns, as well as surgical trainees.
Professor Donkor has served the University in various capacities, having been a member of the KNUST Academic Board since 1998. He served as Head of Department of Surgery from 2000-2005. He is credited with the re-structuring of the department into sub-specialties in keeping with accepted international practice. He was Vice-Dean of the School of Medical Sciences (2002-2006) and the Foundation Head of the Center for Diseases Control, Institute for Research in Africa (ISTA), in the College of Science. He is a member of the University Center for HIV/AIDS (UCHAS). He has chaired several key University committees including: Committee for Developing HIV/AIDS Policy for KNUST, Committee for the Expansion of Clinical Training Facilities for Medical students and Curriculum Development Committee for the Dental Surgery Programme at KNUST.
Professor Donkor holds Fellowships from the West African College of Surgeons, the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. Alongside his teaching he provides clinical services at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and specialist outreach services to several hospitals in Ghana. He has served as External Examiner at the University of Ghana and Chief Examiner for the West African College of Surgeons and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.
His research interests include cleft lip and palate deformity, traumatic injuries, healing of facial wounds, head and neck malignancies, salivary gland diseases, benign jaw swellings, oro-facial infections, temporo-mandibular joint disorders, and reconstructive surgery of the maxillofacial region.
Professor Donkor has made several presentations at national and international conferences, seminars, and workshops. He has published two theses and has more than 25 scientific publications to his credit. He has co-authored two books with colleagues in the Department of Surgery namely: “Surgical Emergencies: What to do” and “Trauma Management for Doctors in District Hospitals.” He has undertaken several collaborative research projects with national and international agencies including the Ministry of Health, DANIDA, DFID, the University of Washington, Seattle and the Fogarty Center, National Institutes of Health, USA.
He is passionate in his desire to see all children born with a cleft deformity receive quality and affordable care. To this end he was the first surgeon in Ghana to partner with Smile Train, a US-based NGO to provide free surgeries for individuals born with a facial cleft. Together with his colleagues on the Cleft Clinic at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Professor Donkor has also partnered international visiting surgical teams to provide free surgeries for individuals with a cleft.
He co-founded the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Cleft Clinic as well as the Head and Neck Oncology Clinic. Currently he holds a number of prestigious appointments including President and Founding member of the Ghana Cleft Foundation, President of the Ghana Surgical Research Society, and President of the Pan-African Association of Cleft Lip and Palate.
Professor Donkor serves on several local, national and international bodies and committees. He has been a member of the Council of the West African College of Surgeons and is a member of several national committees including the Credentials and Accreditation Committee of the Medical and Dental Council, Examinations Committee of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Research Committee of the Ghana Medical Association, and Editorial Committees of the Ghana Medical Journal and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
He is a member of several professional Associations including the Ghana Medical Association, Ghana Dental Association, African Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association.
Professor Donkor serves on the Advisory Committee to the Nyameani Stool and is Vice-President of the Nyameani Youth Association. He has served as a Board Member to the Crown Prince School, Buokrom Estate Kumasi, and Chairman of the Buokrom Estate F&G-lines Landlords Group. He is a God-fearing person who belongs to the Catholic faith.
He likes to spend his free time with his family and indulge in his favorite hobbies such as story-telling, classical music, reading,
walking, soccer, table tennis, and sightseeing.
The KNUST University Council has appointed Professor Peter Donkor as the second Provost of the College of Health Sciences. He succeeds Professor Kwame Sarpong, foundation Provost of the College, whose term of office has ended.