President Mills' Wife Receives Doctorate Degree

Goodwin College in Connecticut, US, has decorated Her Excellency, the first lady, Naadu Mills with a doctorate degree award for devoting her life to enhancing girl child education in Ghana. She was also celebrated for initiating a project, �Foundation for Child Education, Ghana�, as a way of influencing policy makers to ensure every child in Ghana was educated. A press release, issued by the Office of the President on Sunday and copied to the Ghana News Agency said, Dr Naadu Mills was given the recognition at the college�s colourful and well attended graduation ceremony for 2011. The statement said she was joined by Ghana�s representative at the United Nations, Ambassador Ken Kandah, the Chief Executive of The Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Alfred Oko Vanderpuje, the President of the Ghana Telecom University, Dr. Osei Darkwa and Ghana�s Ambassador to the United States, Mr Ohene Agyekum. In a response, Dr. Naadu mills lauded the Goodwin College for the Honour, adding that, the reward would serve as a morale booster to accelerate her commitment to influence policy makers to support girls and children education. It said she was also grateful to President Evans Atta Mills for remaining a motivating pillar behind her success and was happy that, the president was poised to improve infrastructure at the lower levels of education. Dr. Mills noted that, government was gradually getting rid of cultural impediments that stagnated girl child education in Ghana, adding that, the education of women has the potential of having positive exponential effects on the economy. The President of Goodwin College, Mr Mark Sceinberg lauded the first lady for joining other noble women in Ghana to champion the rights of females, a move he was convinced could address underdevelopment. Mr Sceinberg was happy Ghana was in the process of deepening its democratic experiments, urging other African countries to embrace democracy and protect human rights. The statement said in 2009, the first Lady launched the governments free school uniform programme to provide over 1.6 million uniforms to over seventy seven deprived communities across the country, strengthening her commitment to influence policies on education to benefit the poor. It said the first lady, later on, fraternized with the Ghanaian community in Connecticut and encouraged them to live above reproach and be exemplary in all their endeavours. She said Ghana-United States relations dates back to several years and cautioned the residents against acts that have the tendencies of undermining the ties. The statement said the Ghanaian residents in Connecticut turned out in their numbers to witness the historic ceremony to decorate the first lady with the doctorate degree awards at the Goodwin College. It said the residents could not hide their joy about the peak at which the first lady had enhanced Ghana�s image at Hartford by receiving the prestigious Award. Dr. Naadu Mills pursued a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Psychology at the University of Ghana and later earned a Masters of Philosophy in Sociology in Deviant Behaviour and Control. She is also a trained teacher and nutritionist, and had impacted knowledge throughout her adult life.