'Nothing reflects so much honour on a workman as a trial of his work and its endurance of it. So it is with God. It honours Him when His saints preserve their integrity.'
The Very Rev Prof Joshua Narteh Kudadjie was a founding member of the Methodist University College Ghana. We quote what he himself wrote in a special edition of the Amaneɛ Magazine that marked the tenth anniversary celebrations of the University College in November 2010:
“My first contact with Methodist University College Ghana (MUCG) was in 1998. I had returned from sabbatical leave and received a message from the President of the Methodist Conference, Rev. Dr. Asante Antwi to see him. On learning that I would retire from the University of Ghana later that year and that I intended to go into full-time itinerant ministry ( i.e. full-time Circuit work as an ordained Minister of the Methodist Church), he asked me to help Dr. Emmanuel Marfo, who had been appointed Co-ordinator, to prepare the ground for starting a Methodist University in Ghana.”
Prof accepted the challenge and joined Dr. Marfo and others to start the preparatory works towards establishing the Methodist University College Ghana. He served on so many Committees that were put in place to achieve the purpose of establishing the University College. They included the Tertiary Education Advisory Committee (TEAC), Academic Affairs Committee, Campus Committee, Development Committee and the Resource Mobilization Committee.
On 3rd May, 2000, the Very Rev. Prof. Kudadjie was offered appointment as a full-time lecturer in Religion and Ethics in the Methodist University College Ghana (MUCG). On 23rd October, 2000 he was appointed Associate Professor in the Faculty of General Studies, MUCG and on 14th December, 2000, he was appointed the Dean of the Faculty. By dint of hard work, dedication to duty, total commitment to the vision and mission of MUCG and clear demonstration of scholarly achievements, the Very Rev. Prof. Joshua Narteh Kudadjie was appointed the Vice Principal of the Methodist University College Ghana on 19th August, 2003; a position he held until his retirement from the University College on 31st August, 2014.
In his capacity as Vice Principal of MUCG, Prof Kudadjie brought his rich work experience to bear in the administration of the University College. Apart from his assigned role of assisting the Principal in the discharge of his duties, he took it upon himself to read through every University College document or publication before it was brought out into the public domain. He was very meticulous and had the eye for detail. This could be partly due to his past experience as the former Assistant Clerk of the Ghana National Assembly, now Parliament.
The late Very Rev Prof Kudadjie was a staunch Methodist, a devout Christian and a dedicated priest, whose calling spanned the Methodist Church, seminaries and ecumenical ministry. Our records indicate that, while he was a Methodist Minister, he still worked as an External Examiner for some seminaries in Ghana. Even while in MUCG, he took time off to attend a Conference and General Meeting of West Africa Association of Theological Institutions (WAATI) in Ogbomosho, Nigeria from 29th July to 6th August, 2000. He also attended the Joint Theological Conference and General Meeting of African Theological Institutions (CATI) in Nairobi, Kenya from 14th to 18th August, 2000.
Vice, as he was popularly known and called within the MUCG community, was a perfect gentleman, an epitome of Christian principles, integrity, morality and ethics. He had a very strong faith in Christ and maintained a calm composure in the midst of all circumstances. Though we can no longer see him in bodily form, we believe that the good works he has left behind will serve as shining examples for posterity to emulate. Today as we bid him farewell, all we can say is we salute a gallant soldier of the cross, a scholar and distinguished university administrator.
Prof, may your soul Rest in Perfect Peace.