Professor Jerry S. Y. Kuma is the Advisor to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah (MP, Ellembelle). Prof Kuma was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, Ghana from October 2012 to October 2020 and until recently, the Rector of Perez University College, Pomadze, Winneba. He is a Professor of Environmental Hydrogeology and Geophysics. He holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Geology and Physics from University of Ghana, Legon awarded him in 1985.

He received the PG Dip and MSc (with distinction) degrees in Geophysics at ITC, Enschede, The Netherlands in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Professor Kuma was awarded the PhD in 2002 in Water Resources Engineering from the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Before his current appointment at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Prof Kuma was actively involved in researching the hydrology of mining districts and other water resource management issues mainly in Ghana. He was the Ghana Chamber of Mines sponsored Professorial Chair of Environmental Studies at UMaT from 2009 to 2020. He was part of the team of scientists and engineers who received the Queens Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education (Won by Univ. of Newcastle upon Tyne) in 2005. He has supervised several students at the PhD, MPhil, MSc and BSc levels and served as external examiner for several years to University of Ghana, Legon, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Federal University of Technology, Akurre, Nigeria among others. He has scores of published research papers in addition to technical reports to his credit.

He received the Nobles International Award for being an eminent West African who upholds the virtues of honesty, integrity and accountability in November 2013. In June 2014, the World Congress of Chancellors and Vice Chancellors meeting in Mumbai, India, gave Prof Kuma an award for his “outstanding contribution to education”. In December 2015, he received the Africa Education Leadership Award in Mauritius. In June 2016, through Prof Kuma’s leadership, the University of Mines and Technology received the European Society for Quality Research (ESQR) Award in the gold category for quality management. Also, in June 2016, the World Education Congress presented him an awarded for being one of “100 most influential Vice Chancellors”. Again, in June 2016, he was inducted into the Nobles Club 100 by West Africa Nobles Forum. In July 2016 he received the International Business Star Quality (IBSQ) Award for being one of the “most outstanding professionals in Africa” for his “track record of outstanding business performance and exceptional commitment to leadership quality”.