Two outstanding alumni and four final year students of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Law School have been awarded prestigious scholarships to pursue advanced legal studies at Fordham University School of Law in New York and the University of Connecticut (UCONN) School of Law in Hartford, Connecticut.

The two alumni are Grace Frederica Lutterodt and Joshua Wiafe Frimpong, who are heading to Fordham Law School. The final year students are Kwame Afrifa Mensah, Adwoa Asantewaa Sintim, Ethel-Mina Aryee and Fauziah Ibrahim who are going to the University of Connecticut (UCONN) School of Law.

The scholarships were made possible through an academic partnership between GIMPA Law School and two universities in the US, Fordham University School of Law and the University of Connecticut (UConn) Law School, which aims to strengthen cross-border collaboration, promote leadership development, and expand global opportunities for Ghanaian law students and graduates.

At Fordham University School of Law, the two GIMPA Law alumni who have been given full tuition scholarships will be pursuing a Master of Laws Degree (LL.M) in International Law and Justice as part of GIMPA Law School's long standing collaboration and academic partnership with the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham University School of Law. The two alumni will engage with an international academic community, acquire advanced skills, and expand their professional networks, enabling them to take on leadership roles in governance, policy, and development after graduation.

At UCONN, the four GIMPA final year students will benefit from a unique academic partnership between GIMPA Law School and UCONN Law School which allows eligible final year law students of GIMPA to obtain a Master of Laws Degree (LL.M) at UCONN, whilst completing their LL.B at GIMPA. Once students satisfy the conditions for the award of the LL.B at GIMPA, UCONN will then award them the LL.M so long as they satisfy all conditions for the award of the LL.M as well.

GIMPA Law School has a similar academic partnership and collaboration with other Universities in the US, including Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia. These academic partnerships and arrangements also make room for faculty exchanges as well as other joint initiatives between the institutions in the increasingly globalised legal academic environment.

Commendation

Professor Samuel K. Bonsu, Rector of GIMPA, congratulated the alumni and final year students, noting that “This accomplishment is a proud moment for the GIMPA community. It reflects the strength of our graduates and students generally, the quality of our programs, and the benefits of partnerships that extend opportunities beyond our borders.”

The success of the two alumni and other final year students of the GIMPA Law School underscores the value of the partnership between GIMPA Law School, Fordham University School of Law, and the University of Connecticut Law School. It highlights the transformative power of global academic collaborations.

Their achievements are expected to inspire future GIMPA law students and alumni, reinforcing the Institute’s reputation as a center of excellence for leadership and management education in Africa.

Fordham-GIMPA

At the heart of the GIMPA Law School and Fordham University Law School partnership lies the Fordham–Ghana Summer Law Program, which is hosted annually at the GIMPA Law School.

This initiative exposes both Ghanaian and international law students to comparative legal systems, human rights frameworks, and global justice issues, while deepening Fordham’s commitment to building academic and professional bridges between Ghana and the United States.

The Leitner Scholarships, awarded annually to outstanding law graduates from the Global South, are not only a recognition of academic merit but also a mechanism for capacity building.

Recipients of this scholarship are committed to returning to Ghana after their studies and contributing to legal education by serving as lecturers at the GIMPA Law School.

The impact of this program is axiomatic. Previous beneficiaries of the scholarship include Dr Kwaku Agyeman Budu, now Dean of the GIMPA Law School, as well as Hon. Diana Asonaba Dapaah (former Deputy Attorney General of Ghana), Dr Isidore Tuffour (Director of Prosecutions at the Office of the Special Prosecutor) and Dr Enam Antonio, who are also currently lecturers at the GIMPA Law School and have each gone on to make significant contributions to academia, governance, and policy.

GIMPA-UCONN

GIMPA and the University of Connecticut (UConn) executed a partnership agreement in 2023 to contribute to a deeper global understanding of the law across jurisdictions and provide opportunities for students and faculty to enhance their knowledge of international and comparative law through exchanges and graduate studies at the master's level.

Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Budu, Dean of the GIMPA Law School, and Professor Eboni Nelson, Dean of the UCONN School of Law met to discuss the partnership agreement in Connecticut, USA, in August 2023.

As part of the agreement, GIMPA Law can nominate several current Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B) and Master of Laws Degree (LL.M) students, as well as GIMPA Law Alumni, every year to study abroad at the UCONN School of Law for a duration of between one semester and a year.

Each student selected and officially referred by GIMPA Law to UCONN is eligible to receive a merit scholarship award of up to 50% of the academic fees needed to complete the UCONN LLM programme in one academic year.