CGHE Welcomes New Co-Director, Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah

Published December 12, 2022

Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah at the Ait Quality Ideas Lab.

Dr. Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah at the Ait Quality Ideas Lab

As of Fall 2023, the Community for Global Health Equity (CGHE) bids farewell to longtime co-director, Dr. Samina Raja, and welcomes Dr. Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah.

Dr. Frimpong Boamah brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to this role, with experience conducting interdisciplinary research, and training in urban and regional planning and institutional economics. Beginning with a Bachelor of Science degree in Development Policy Planning from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in his home nation of Ghana, Dr. Frimpong Boamah then went on to earn a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Studies from Minnesota State University and a Ph.D. in Urban and Public Affairs from the University of Louisville. Before his employment as assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning with joint appointment in the Community or Global Health Equity in 2017, he served as an Economic Development Consultant and Visiting Assistant Professor in Mankato, Minnesota. Dr. Frimpong Boamah was hired at the University at Buffalo in 2017 through the CGHE “to bridge an existing research gap between urban planning, governance, and international development”.

Dr. Frimpong Boamah is dedicated to understanding governance as it relates to planning and institutions and conducts this research through his research lab, Just Institutions. His work aims to identify drivers of inequities in land, water, food, and housing domestically and abroad and, further, reforming these drivers through design and planning principles. This work lies at the intersection of urban planning, governance, and international development, which is a critical nexus to explore both in terms of research gaps and in terms of improving land tenure for communities.

Dr. Frimpong Boamah is not only a renowned researcher and scholar, but also a dedicated mentor who has earned numerous awards for scholarship and teaching. He actively engages students in his work, noting the opportunities this engagement offers to inspiring the next generation of planners. He has also shared visions of linking students at US to world partners, offering a first-hand experience in planning challenges and solutions in the Global South. This vision will come to fruition in the 2023-2024 academic year, when the Master of Science in International Development and Global Health, which Dr. Frimpong Boamah leads, is launched.  

Dr. Frimpong Boamah’s dedication to research, decision-making, and teaching poises him to serve as a leader for the Community for Global Health Equity. He says, “I will be standing on the shoulders of giants, like Samina, Pavani, Kory, and many others who continue to bridge the global and local in conversations and actions around health equity. CGHE is our intellectual commons, and I'm excited to continue the legacy of coproducing ideas and solutions to enrich UB and our local and global communities and partners.” His role as co-lead brings in new opportunities and excitement for what is to come for UB’s engagement with global issues.