The Yunus Program has been created to inspire students, faculty members, administrators, and alumni, as well as leaders in the mid-south region of the U.S., to study the life and philosophy of Dr. Muhammad Yunus and to join him and his global partners in efforts to eradicate economic poverty and reduce social problems in the world. Dr. Yunus, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 and has remained very active since, taught as a regular faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University (assistant professor, 1969-82) and at the University of Chittagong (professor and chairman, 1972-84) before deciding to devote his full time to the development of the Grameen Bank ("village bank";).

Program Components

• Developing a "Yunus Collection"; (e.g., books, monographs, and audio-visual materials).
• Sending students for internship at the Grameen Bank in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• Offering lectures and courses on micro-credit finance and on social business, and on related areas.
• Implementing the "Yunus Commemoration Agreement of Friendship and Exchange between the University of Chittagong and Middle Tennessee State University"; (signed in spring, 2010), in such forms as research collaboration, faculty and student exchange, and "Books for Bangladesh"; campaign .
• Establishing, as a long-term goal, a Mid-South Institute for Social Business, at MTSU or elsewhere in the region, an incubator for social business development, in collaboration with area colleges and universities, private enterprises, government agencies, and the like.
• Working closely with the "Yunus Centre"; in Bangladesh and with its collaborators ("Grameen family members";) throughout the world, especially academic institutions in the U.S., West Europe, and Japan.

MTSU Office

The Program is managed mainly by Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito (kawahito@mtsu.edu, professor emeritus, Department of Economics and Finance, and advisor to the president and the provost on Asian affairs) from his office on the 4th floor of the Business and Aerospace Building, MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. His close associates at MTSU so far have been the College of Business and the College of University Honors. They are aware of the presence of more than 20 old friends and associates of Professor Yunus in Tennessee and Alabama. Any contributions (e.g., moral encouragement, monetary donation, and human and material resource offering) are appreciated.