Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Surprises UDC Students as mtvU 'Stand In' Professor

NEW YORK, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, today gave a University of the District of Columbia class much more than they bargained for, hosting Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as a surprise professor-for-the-day. Part of mtvU's Emmy-nominated series "Stand In," the network brought the first woman ever elected to head an African country into UDC's "Social Stratification, Power and Inequality" class, which examines structured social inequalities, unequal distributions of power, and social mobility in societies stratified by race, sex, class and other factors.

The President engaged the class in a lively discussion on subjects such as the complex relationship between African-Americans and Africans, the challenges of rooting out governmental corruption and a topic that could factor into the 2008 U.S. Presidential election: the unique military and economic challenges confronting a female head of state. As a world leader who has overcome numerous social obstacles in her ascent to Liberia's presidency, Mrs. Sirleaf was able to offer the students a truly unique vantage point and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from someone helping shape history today. "mtvU Stand In: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf" will premiere online (mtvU.com) November 5th at 7am ET and follow on-air (mtvU, broadcast to more than 750 college campuses nationwide) the same day at noon.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in as the president of Liberia in January 2006. Born and educated in Monrovia, she continued her studies in the United States in the 1960s. She studied at the University of Colorado at Boulder and obtained a masters degree from Harvard University, then returned to Liberia and served as a finance minister for President William Tolbert in the middle and late 70s. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Mrs. Sirleaf served in various roles on both sides of the Atlantic, including many years as a successful executive in the international banking community. She returned to Liberia for good in 2003, became the standard bearer for the Unity Party, and was elected president in November of 2005. Since taking office, she is widely credited with advancing Liberia's economic development and helping the country heal from years of tumult and civil war.

President Johnson Sirleaf is the latest in a series of major public figures who have served as mtvU "Stand In" professors. Other heads of state, celebrities and global icons who have paid surprise visits to unsuspecting classrooms for the series include Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Nobel Laureates Elie Wiesel and Shimon Peres, Madonna, Senators John McCain and Sam Brownback, Marilyn Manson, Bill Gates, Annie Lennox, Kanye West, Sting, 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 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 , 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.