Professor Edward Brenya, the current Chairman of the Governing Council of this University, is a Political Scientist, Policy Analyst, Public Administrator, and a Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Born at Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana, Professor Brenya, the fourth of seven children of parents who were both educators, was determined to make a difference in life by imparting knowledge on others. This ambition took him through his elementary education in both Ghana and Nigeria, where his parents moved for greener pastures. In Nigeria, Professor Brenya dropped out of school to work as a shoe shine boy to support his parents to take care of his elder siblings.
However, when his family returned to Ghana, his determination pushed him to re-enrol at the Kwamang SDA Middle School, where he sat for the Common Entrance Examination. He was given a Cocoa Marketing Board scholarship to pursue his secondary education at the prestigious Opoku Ware School and Konongo Odumase Secondary, where he earned his Ordinary and Advanced Levels’ Certificates. He continued his education at the University of Ghana, Legon, where he received his undergraduate training in Political Science with Philosophy. Upon completion, he did his National Service at the Manhyia Palace. His selfless and dedicated service earned him a job as the foundational Administrative Manager of His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Education Fund. Subsequently, he became a beneficiary of His Royal Majesty’s prestigious Ohio University scholarship to continue his education in the United States of America (USA), where he obtained a Master of Arts in International Affairs (African Studies) and a Master of Public Administration degree from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA.
He then moved to West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA, to pursue and obtain a Master of Arts in Political Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science degree. Professor Brenya lectured at West Virginia University (full time) and Grantham University Online (part-time) in the USA for some years before joining Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where he rose through the ranks to become the current Head of the Department of History, Political Science and Public Administration. As a Coordinator of postgraduate programmes of his Department, Professor Brenya has nurtured and made the Master of Public Administration programme one of the flagship postgraduate programmes of the Institute of Distance Learning, KNUST. Professor Brenya has also introduced the Bachelor of Public Administration programme both at the Department and the IDL stream. He has also supervised the introduction of several programmes, including the MA and PhD in Political Science, and increased the enrolment for all programmes of his Department.
Professor Brenya has imparted knowledge, supervised, and mentored several students, many of whom are now faculty members, legal practitioners, and senior administrators in institutions and organisations in both Ghana and abroad. He has published several articles in reputable journals in the areas of public health and tobacco control policy, public administration, petroleum and energy politics and policy, democracy and democratisation, and public finance and budgeting, among others. He is currently the President of several research think tanks, including President of Otumfuo’s Fellows, Confederacy of Governance Assessment Institute, and the Director of Politics and Governance at the Ghana Institute of Governance and Security. He has also chaired and served on several statutory and non-statutory committees, assessed programmes for accreditation by the Ghana National Tertiary Commission (GTEC), assessed promotion documents for some institutions, and served as an external examiner for some institutions. He also continues to serve as a continuous and ad hoc reviewer for several reputable academic journals. Professor Edward Brenya is married to Patricia, and they are blessed with three adorable children: Edward, Jude, and Angelina.
