mtvU & UCLA ANDERSON HOST NOBEL LAUREATE DR. MUHAMMAD YUNUS AS SURPRISE “STAND IN” PROFESSOR
Nobel Peace Prize-Winning Economist Drops in to Guest-Teach Special Micro Lending Course for Emmy-Nominated mtvU Series
New York, NY – October 22, 2007 – mtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, today hosted Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, giving a group of MBA students an unexpected, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from a man The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised as helping “large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty” and “advance democracy and human rights.”
The latest installment of its Emmy-nominated series “Stand In,” mtvU brought the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner to UCLA Anderson for a special class on micro lending, which he helped pioneer to fight poverty throughout the developing world. The UCLA Anderson students were deep in a lecture on Dr. Yunus’ award-winning work with micro credit – a practice where aspiring entrepreneurs who do not qualify for traditional credit are funded with small, collateral-free, reasonable rate loans – when there was a knock on the door, and in walked the Nobel Laureate, followed by mtvU cameras. Dr. Yunus then engaged the class’ students in an in-depth discussion of the topic and ways they can advance micro lending when they enter the workforce, offering more terminally impoverished peoples new opportunities to achieve financial prosperity. His presentation included The Green Children’s DVD performance of “Hear Me Now,” a moving tribute to the millions of Bangladesh women who, as a result of Grameen Bank micro loans, have been able to improve the lives, health and education of their families.
Anyone who wasn’t in the class will have a chance to experience it virtually when “mtvU Stand In: Dr. Muhammad Yunus” premieres online (mtvU.com) November 11th at 7am ET and follows on-air (mtvU, broadcast to more than 750 college campuses nationwide) the same day at noon.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the internationally-renowned “banker to the poor,” got his start in micro finance by giving small cash loans, often the equivalent of only a few dollars, to poor villagers in Bangladesh. The idea grew into an international movement that resulted in him being recognized with the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Yunus earned a Ph.D. in economics at Vanderbilt University in 1969 and began his career teaching at Middle Tennessee State University, then at Chittagong University in Bangladesh. In 1976, he founded the Grameen Bank to propagate the practice of micro credit, making loans to people with no collateral who would not be served by typical banks. There are now an estimated 7,000 microfinance institutions serving more than 16 million poor people in developing nations worldwide and Dr. Yunus is bringing the Grameen Bank model to America, starting with a program to reach poor immigrants in Queens, NY. In addition to the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded jointly to Dr. Yunus and the Grameen Bank, Dr. Yunus has been recognized with the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the World Food Prize, the Sydney Peace Prize and 26 honorary doctorate degrees.
Dr. Yunus is the latest in a series of global icons and major public figures who have served as mtvU “Stand In” professors. Past participants include Nobel Laureates Elie Wiesel and Shimon Peres, Madonna, Senators John McCain and Sam Brownback, Marilyn Manson, Bill Gates, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sting, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Annie Lennox, Kanye West, Don Cheadle, Cameron Diaz, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Ashley Judd, Snoop Dogg, Larry David and many more. Episodes of these and other mtvU “Stand In”s are available in their entirety on demand at mtvU.com. “Stand In” has been recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and was nominated for the first-ever Emmy honoring Outstanding Achievement in Content for Non-Traditional Delivery Platforms.
About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management, established in 1935, is regarded among the very best business schools in the world. UCLA Anderson faculty are ranked #1 in “Intellectual Capital” by BusinessWeek and are renowned for their teaching excellence and research in advancing management thinking. Each year, UCLA Anderson provides management education to more than 1,600 students enrolled in MBA, Executive MBA, Fully-Employed MBA and doctoral programs, and to more than 2,000 professional managers through executive education programs. Combining highly selective admissions, varied and innovative learning programs, and a world-wide network of 35,000 alumni, UCLA Anderson develops and prepares global leaders.
About mtvU
Broadcast to more than 750 colleges across the country, with a combined enrollment of nearly 7.5 million, mtvU is the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, mtvU can be seen in the dining areas, fitness centers, student lounges and dorm rooms of campuses throughout the U.S. mtvU is dedicated to every aspect of college life, reaching students everywhere they are, through a three pronged approach – on-air, online and on campus. mtvU focuses on content including music videos from emerging artists which can’t be seen anywhere else, news, student life features, events and pro-social initiatives. mtvU is always on campus, with more than 500 events per year, including exclusive concerts, giveaways, shooting mtvU series and more. For more information about mtvU, and for a complete programming schedule, visit http://www.mtvU.com.
In September 2005, mtvU became the first MTV Networks channel to also be distributed in its entirety online. The network is simulcast and available on demand at mtvU.com 24/7, featuring all of network’s on-air content plus exclusive new music, original series and student-produced programming for college students and music fans everywhere.
mtvU also owns and operates the College Media Network, the largest interactive network of online college newspapers in the US, and RateMyProfessors.com, the Internet’s largest listing of collegiate professor ratings. The College Media Network comprises nearly 550 campus publications that serve institutions including Brown University, the University of Illinois, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin and Duke University, with a combined enrollment of over 5.5 million students, reaching an average of 5 million unique users each month. RateMyProfessors.com reaches approximately 1.5 million college students each month, via the site’s more than 6.7 million student-generated ratings of over 1,000,000 college professors.
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 120 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services – MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, with all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 100 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.
Jason Rzepka
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