Release Date: March 9, 2005

Dwight Tierney '69

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Dwight Tierney, a 1969 Monmouth College graduate who helped make music and television history in 1981 as a member of the team that launched MTV, will deliver the college’s commencement address on May 15.

Currently a senior executive vice president for MTV’s parent corporation, Viacom Inc., Tierney will be presented with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in the outdoor ceremony, which will be held at noon on the Wallace Hall Plaza.

Based in London, Tierney oversees Viacom’s Europe/Middle East/Africa/Asia operations. His responsibilities for the global media company include corporate governance, labor relations, employment law, human resources, real estate, construction and strategic services.

Tierney, who chairs Viacom’s International Marketing Council, its Information & Technology Council and its International Procurement Forum, is also responsible for the company’s international business ethics initiatives.

Tierney was formerly vice president and chairman of Viacom’s Office of Employee Advocate in New York, where he was responsible for advising all employees and management about Viacom’s relations with its employees. He worked with the human resources professionals in each division to provide an open atmosphere where information on employee issues could flow freely between management and staff and among co-workers. He was also responsible for educating employees about such issues as AIDS awareness, discrimination policies, sexual harassment and privacy.

A founder of the National Association for Minorities in Cable TV, Tierney has served as a board member for the Veterans Leadership Council, The Walter Kaitz Foundation, Just One Break, and Alone in London, an organization to aid homeless young people.

Identified by Human Resources Magazine as one of the top executives in that field, he has taught at the American Management Association, guest-lectured at Long Island University and Rutgers University and written about work and family, leadership and business ethics.

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