Ernest Aryeetey is the Secretary-General of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), a network of 16 of Africa’s flagship universities. He is a Professor of Economics and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana (2010-2016). He was also previously Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) (2003-2010) at the University of Ghana and the first Director of the Africa Growth Initiative of Brookings Institution, Washington D.C.
He has held academic appointments at the School of Oriental and African Studies (London), Yale University and Swarthmore College in the U.S. at various points in time. Ernest Aryeetey was a member of the Governing Council of the United Nations University (2016-2019) and was also previously Chairman of the Advisory Board of the UNU-World Institute for Development Economics Research (Helsinki). He is currently the Board Chairman of the African Economic Research Consortium. He was, until recently, the Board Chairman of Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Sussex (UK), Lund University (Sweden), Stellenbosch University (South Africa), University of Ghana, Legon (Ghana) and University of Health and Applied Sciences ((UHAS), Ghana).
One of Ernest Aryeetey’s strategic priorities as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Ghana was to develop the University into a research-intensive institution that supports structural transformation in Africa.