Professor Akilagpa Sawyerr, Companion of the Order of the Volta, served as the first Chair of the Steering Committee of STAR-Ghana Programme from 2010 to 2017 and also served as President of the Ghana Academy of Sciences. He is also a former Member of the Council of State in Ghana, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana (1985-92) and former Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities (AAU). After attending Achimota School in Ghana, and studying Law at the Universities of Durham and London, Professor Sawyerr obtained the degree of Doctor of the Science of Jurisprudence at the University of California (Berkeley). Professor Sawyerr held teaching and research appointments at universities and research institutions in Africa, Europe, the US and the Pacific, and his publications include: Economic Development and Trade in Papua New Guinea; The Political Dimension of Structural Adjustment Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa; Economic Emancipation and Democratic Governance: The Role of the Trade Unions; “Renegotiation of the VALCO Agreement: Contribution to a theoretical interpretation”; “Globalisation and the Social Sciences in Africa”; “Challenges Facing African Universities: Selected Issues”; “African Higher Education and Industry: What linkages?”, “Contractual Capacity of Minors and the Conflict of Laws in East Africa”, and “The High Court of Uganda and Customary Law”.