Prof Muhammad Yunus
Nobel Peace Prize winner and global anti-poverty campaigner Prof Muhammad Yunus was made the Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) on Friday.
The formal ceremony in the University’s Saltire Centre was preceded by a colourful procession through the city centre campus, with the new chancellor and members of the University Court and senior staff dressed in their academic robes and accompanied by the Bedellus carrying GCU’s ceremonial mace, a press release of the Yunus Centre said.
The ceremony was attended by 350 members of staff, students and invited guests, including representatives from other UK and international universities, national and local government, the arts, academia, business and charitable supporters.
The ceremony was also an emotional family occasion for Yunus with his daughter Monica, an international opera star based in New York, performing during the event accompanied by musicians from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Although the role of Chancellor is largely a ceremonial one, Yunus already has a strong working relationship with the University through the recently- launched Grameen Scotland Foundation, which will oversee the running of the first Grameen micro-lending system in the UK, The Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health in Glasgow, and the Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing in Bangladesh.
The University’s new chancellor has been honoured worldwide, including receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, for his pioneering work with the Grameen Bank which he established in his native Bangladesh in the 1980s and which has since helped lift millions of people out of poverty through its micro-lending system targeted at the least well-off in society.
Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Mike Russell MSP, GCU Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Pamela Gillies and Student President Carla Fyfe addressed on the occassion.
Yunus, who was formally installed as Chancellor by the Chair of the University Court, Antony Brian, also spoke eloquently about the “common good” mission he shares with the university and pledged his inspirational leadership to further GCU’s work in the community at home and abroad.
University Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Pamela Gillies said: “This has been a historic day for Glasgow Caledonian University. The appointment of Prof Yunus, who is a world thought leader in social business and a global anti-poverty campaigner, underlines not only our enduring commitment to the common good, but our status as a globally networked institution.
“I believe with Chancellor Yunus as our figurehead we will continue to grow as an institution and deliver real benefits for our students and the communities we work for in Scotland and overseas. I am incredibly excited and honoured to serve as his Vice- Chancellor.”
Her views were supported by the Chair of Court, Tony Brian, who commented: “This is a wonderful appointment for the university, building still further on our already strong relationship with Yunus. In his role as chancellor and through his inspirational leadership qualities he is uniquely placed to help the university deliver its mission, both at home and internationally.”
Yunus said he was particularly pleased to be working once again with young people: “Being installed as chancellor is a very happy occasion for me. As a teacher and then as founder of the Grameen Bank, I have always worked alongside young people. Because of this, I feel I have an easy connection with them. As chancellor, I will share my experiences and make them see there’s nothing unusual in what I do – and that they can do that too.”
A world thought leader in social business, Yunus is the founder of the Grameen Bank, a global movement dedicated to alleviating poverty through micro-lending. First established in 1983, the Grameen Bank now operates in 38 countries, with a further 60 having adopted variations of its micro-finance system.
The movement has won widespread international support and recognition, with Yunus receiving 113 awards from 26 nations. Among the highest honours are the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the US, which Yunus received from President Barack Obama in 2009.
Yunus has visited GCU on a number of occasions since 2008, when he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters of the university and delivered the inaugural Magnusson Fellowship Lecture, an annual event established in memory of GCU’s late chancellor, the broadcaster Magnus Magnusson, who died in 2007.
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