[207]MTSU STUDENT RETURNS TO CAMPUS AFTER WORK IN BANGLADESH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 21, 2008EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu

MTSU STUDENT RETURNS TO CAMPUS AFTER WORK IN BANGLADESH
Moved, Motivated by Plight of Bangladeshis, Steve Sibley Comes Home to Graduate

(MURFREESBORO) – MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business and the Department of Economics and Finance will host a reception for Steve Sibley, who returned recently from a 10-week internship in Bangladesh, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 24, in the SunTrust Room of the Business and Aerospace Building. The 27-year-old business finance major from Signal Mountain, who is slated to graduate next month, is the first recipient of the Kawahito Scholarship for Experiential World Poverty Studies. The stipend made it possible for Sibley to work at the world-famous Grameen Bank, the financial institution founded by Nobel Peace Prize-winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Yunus was an assistant professor of economics at MTSU from 1969 to 1972. Since 1976, he has devoted his life to helping his country overcome its underdeveloped economy through microcredit, the practice of lending money to people without any
collateral or credit history in order to help them invest in their own futures. “I am grateful for the wonderful people whom I met along the way—everyone who was so helpful, kind, and generous,” Sibley wrote in his final e-mail to his supporters. “I am thankful for the Grameen Bank employees who serve the poor with such passion and dedication. Those who welcomed me as their brother, uncle, nephew and son will forever be in my heart as my extended family.” As per the requirements of the Kawahito Scholarship, Sibley did not restrict his activities to the bank. He went to areas of extreme poverty to witness first-hand the deprivation and squalor that oppresses the Bangladeshi people and the social businesses that have been formed to alleviate their suffering and give them an opportunity for a better life. The Kawahito Scholarship for Experiential World Poverty Studies was created by and is named for Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, professor emeritus of economics and finance and former director of the university’s Japan-U.S. Program. To find out more about the scholarship, contact Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito at 615-898-5751 or kawahito@mtsu.edu. To make a donation, contact Dr. Richard Hannah at 615-898-2228 or rlhannah@mtsu.edu.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpeg photos of Steve Sibley at work in Bangladesh, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.