Ashesi is pleased to announce that Dr. Suzanne Fox Buchele has joined the university as Associate Provost and Associate Professor of Math and Computer Science. Among other responsibilities, Dr. Buchele will chair the Committee for Ashesi’s Engineering curriculum.
Dr. Buchele is a seasoned educator, having taught computer science and mathematics at Southwestern University since 1998.
Dr. Buchele, her husband Steve, and their three children moved from Texas to Ghana in 2006 and stayed for 2 years. Originally they had planned to stay just one year but requested their Fulbright Grant be extended for a maximum two years so they could remain at Ashesi and continue their work in Ghana.
While at Ashesi, Dr. Buchele taught courses in Computer Graphics, Software Engineering, Discrete Mathematics and helped develop the laboratory component for Programming I. She led and helped organize Ashesi’s Computer Science department, established and chaired the Academic Programming Committee and was a vocal leader in academic policy discussions. Dr. Buchele also helped guide Ashesi’s development of a campus Honour Code and can be credited for countless improvements in university policies regarding faculty and students.
In 2007 when Ashesi’s Dean of Academic Affairs was forced to take leave of absence for a year Dr. Buchele graciously took up the mantle and became Acting Dean in addition to her teaching duties. Her knowledge and experience helped guide Ashesi through a year of immense growth in students, faculty and staff.
However her impact in Ghana was not simply isolated to Ashesi’s campus. She worked to test and deploy the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project in Ghana, and worked with primary school teachers in a government school in Accra to help them learn how to teach with the new technology.
In 2012, Dr. Buchele again visited Ashesi to teach a two-month course in Cryptography and is now rejoining the university permanently. Her husband, Steve Buchele, will also be helping teach Leadership One.