JMU-Ghana Team Ambassadorial Visit

Between April 14–16, 2026, former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Pamela Bridgewater and Her Excellency Jane Aheto, Deputy Ghanaian Ambassador to the United States, visited James Madison University to support JMU’s expanding work in the Ghana study abroad and internship programs. The visit featured a full agenda of engagements. Both ambassadors and embassy staff met with the Ghana Leadership Team that includes the Ole School Alumni Scholarship Group and its corporate sponsors, The African, African American, and Diaspora Studies Center, the Office of Access, Compliance, and Engagement, representatives from five out of seven JMU Colleges, and the Center for Global Engagement.

The ambassadors held a mentorship session and book signing with a body of students that comprised those from the School of Nursing winter sessions in Ghana, as well as both past participants and those preparing for the 2026 June academic and July internship programs.

The ambassadors enjoyed a lunch with President Schmidt that brought together senior leadership, alumni, faculty, staff, students, and embassy representatives. Participants engaged in table discussions that strengthened relationships and explored future collaboration. President Schmidt expressed gratitude for the ambassadors’ visit and their support of JMU’s efforts in Ghana. Both ambassadors emphasized the importance of sustained partnership and the value of the Ghana Experience. They reframed the question from “Why Ghana?” to a compelling case for “Why Ghana!” Later, the ambassadors met with college deans and senior faculty to reinforce the significance of academic engagement in Ghana. The visit concluded with a reception hosted by the Center for Global Engagement, where students, faculty, staff, and leadership engaged directly with Ambassador Bridgewater.

The overarching takeaway was the Ghana Embassy’s strong endorsement of JMU’s work in the country and its invitation for deeper collaboration as well as the full-throated support voiced by a former US ambassador to Ghana. Both emphatically advocated for JMU’s support of The Ghana program as a life-changing experience rooted in three decades of rich partnerships cultivated in the country by Dr. David Owusu-Ansah. OSASG’s contributions alongside those of key JMU partners and external constituents were essential to the success of this event, the first of its kind at JMU.