When Professor FO Kwami was appointed Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana, in 1982, the School of Engineering lost the services of an exceptionally gifted engineering professor. A German-trained engineer and born professor, Frank Kwami was a natural choice for a rapid promotion to full professor and then vice-chancellor. If rumor mongers whispered about a political appointment of a tribal member by the recently self-proclaimed Head of State, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, they would have had a hard time naming a better qualified candidate. Still, his performance at the head of the university was less memorable than that of his three distinguished predecessors and suggested a gently modified form of Professor Parkinson’s well-known law that capable people tend to be promoted to a lower level of competence.

KNUST was best known internationally for its Technology Consultancy Center (TCC) – an independently funded organization that operated a broad program of grassroots industrial development projects. Vice-Chancellor Dr E Evans-Anfom had founded the TCC in 1972 and his successor, Dr E Bamfo-Kwakye had been instrumental in gaining funding support for the TCC’s Intermediate Technology Transfer Units (ITTU) at Suame Magazine in Kumasi and Tamale in the Northern Region.

Frank Kwami unsuccessfully ran for the post of TCC’s first director in 1972, and upon becoming vice chancellor a decade later, one of his early moves was aimed at gaining control of the TCC and its foreign financial support. This led to four years of conflict that attracted the Government of Ghana and international donors and resulted in the TCC retaining its independent status. It was a shame that this personal problem tarnished Frank Kwami’s tenure as vice chancellor.

Frank Kwami presided over the affairs of KNUST during a period of exceptional political and economic turmoil that was reflected in life within the university. At this time there were frequent power outages and three days a week working, Catholic pastor KNUST was shot and wounded at a road barrier and teachers were called in early morning radio bulletins to inform the head of state. in Accra. When Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings first took power in 1979, he was popular with college students, but during his second coming in 1982/3 he lost popularity by closing universities and sending students home to help feed the nation working on the farms. Food was scarce and academics joined long lines for a chance to buy some “commodity” items.

Frank Kwami’s tenure as Vice Chancellor may not have been marked by a significant expansion of the university’s range of capabilities, but at this time preserving the institution was a worthy achievement. Upon retiring from his senior position, he returned to the School of Engineering as Emeritus Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Here, he not only revived his regular teaching activities, but participated in an innovative program that kept his memory alive in circles far from the university.

Starting in 1994, Intermediate Technology Ghana (ITGhana) started a study of some 100 small engineering companies, mainly in Kumasi, Accra and Tema, but also in Tamale, Takoradi and Sunyani. The aim was to identify technical weaknesses that could be reinforced by the short training courses held at KNUST during university holidays. Frank Kwami became the director of a series of two-week residential courses for homeowners and technicians from engineering companies included in the survey. The courses covered topics such as interpretation and working from engineering drawings, computer-aided drawing, and cast-based manufacturing.

The base engineers warmly welcomed the opportunity to study at the university and receive instruction from eminent professors. Frank Kwami earned the lasting respect of these men and women who highly appreciated his ability to present complex problems in clear and simple terms that they could understand. What impressed them the most was Frank Kwami’s willingness to bring his knowledge to his level and also his concern to apply this knowledge in the work of their companies. In this way, Frank Kwami shared with his illustrious predecessors a worthy record of assisting in Ghana’s grassroots industrial development.