Prof. KUUDER was born in Bawku to Mr. Joseph I. Kuuder (a retired educationist and headmaster) and Madam Virginia K. Saaliboh (a retired nurse and district director of health services), both of blessed memory. Due to the fact that his father was an educationist and was oftentimes transferred to work in different towns, he moved alongside his dad and as such attended a number of basic schools at the time namely; Karbo L/A Primary School, Lawra, Dokomolo Primary School, Navrongo and Wa Experimental Primary School, Wa. From primary six, he transitioned into secondary school at the St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary in Wa for his G.C.E.‘O’Level Certificate.
After his G.C.E. ‘O’ Level, he was admitted to the Lawra Secondary School for his G.C.E ‘A’ Level. Upon successfully obtaining his ‘A’ Level Certificate, he proceeded to the then Gbewaa Training College, now Gbewaa College of Education, where he obtained Teachers’ Certificate ‘A’, in 1997. After completion, he taught for two years at the Lawra R/C Junior High School. In 1999, he enrolled for a degree programme at the University of Cape Coast and successfully graduated in 2022 with a B.Sc in Tourism Management.
He taught Geography, Economics, and Social Studies at Lawra Secondary School from 2002 to 2006 and gained admission again to the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to offer a Master of Philosophy degree programme in Tourism Management and graduated in 2009. In 2010, he was appointed for lectureship at the University for Development Studies to teach in the Department of Ecotourism and Hospitality Management. By dint of hard work through scholarly publication in refereed journals, he was promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer in 2015.
Later in the same year, he left for doctoral studies in Tourism Management at the same UCC and completed the 3-year programme on schedule in 2018. He was first appointed Head of Department from 2013 to 2015 and later again from 2020 to 2024. Due to his love and passion for teaching, he enrolled for a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) in the 2021/2022 academic year, at the UDS, to refresh his teaching methodology skills and also to upgrade and enrich his teacher education certification. He successfully graduated in November, 2022. In the same year (2022), he submitted a fresh set of 12 academic publications for assessment through the university’s Appointment and Promotion Board for consideration to be promoted to the next rank.
His papers were assessed and he was subsequently promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Department of Ecotourism and Hospitality Management of the UDS. He has published extensively, with three book chapters to his credit and over thirty articles in peer-reviewed journals. He has also made presentations at both local and international conferences. In his academic career, he has supervised over 105 first-degree theses, 5 M.Phil. theses and 1 Ph.D thesis. He has also been an external examiner of 10 M.Phil. and 2 Ph.D. theses respectively. He is a reviewer to a number of leading local and foreign academic journals.
At the Church level, he is a member of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall, a Catholic Friendly Society, having recently risen up to the rank of Deputy Regional Grand Knight. He also doubles as the Vice Chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council, Holy Cross Catholic Parish, Tamale. For four years running, he has also been the Chairman of the Friends of St. Victor’s Major Seminary, (Tamale chapter), a charity group that supports Catholic Seminarians in their training. Prof. KUUDER is a family man with 4 lovely sons.
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