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Kravis Award



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ROY L. PROSTERMAN AWARDED HENRY R. KRAVIS PRIZE IN LEADERSHIP;
Rural Development Institute Founder
Noted As “Champion for the World’s Poor”

$250,000 Prize Designed to Foster Leadership in the Non-Profit World

Claremont, Calif., March 14, 2006--Claremont McKenna College and the Kravis Leadership Institute announced today the selection of Roy L. Prosterman, founder and chairman emeritus of the Rural Development Institute, as recipient of the inaugural Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership for his pioneering work in fighting for the rights of the rural poor to own land, one of the underlying causes of global poverty. The Kravis Prize, which carries a $250,000 award, honors extraordinary leadership in the non-profit sector. Mr. Prosterman has designated the Rural Development Institute to receive the award money.

The Prize, administered by Claremont McKenna College, the Kravis Leadership Institute, and Henry R. Kravis, a trustee and alumnus of Claremont McKenna College and founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Marie-Josée Kravis, economist and Hudson Institute senior fellow, is funded by Mr. and Mrs. Kravis. The Kravis Prize will be presented May 6 at ceremonies in Los Angeles.

“Our goal in creating The Kravis Prize was to acknowledge and honor the vision, boldness, creativity, and determination required of leaders in the not-for-profit world,” said Mr. Kravis. “It is important to acknowledge both individuals and institutions, and to recognize that an ‘entrepreneur’ in the not-for-profit world brings to bear similar skills and disciplines as a ‘business entrepreneur’ in achieving extraordinary goals. Roy Prosterman embodies these qualities, and is the ideal leader to receive the inaugural Kravis Prize.”

Mrs. Kravis noted that potential Prize recipients were assessed using carefully crafted quantitative and qualitative criteria based on state-of-the-art analysis and evaluation methods. She thanked the members of the Selection Committee for their “vigilance and support.” The Selection Committee, chaired by Mrs. Kravis, includes: Mr. Harry McMahon, CMC trustee, chairman of the Kravis Leadership Institute Advisory Board, and vice chairman, Merrill Lynch & Co.; Mrs. Sudha Murty, president, Infosys Foundation; Lord Rothschild, chairman, Rothschild Investment Trust Capital Partners; and Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, Special Envoy, Gaza Strip Disengagement, and former World Bank president.

Mr. Prosterman and RDI

Mr. Prosterman founded the Rural Development Institute (RDI) twenty-five years ago to institutionalize the work he began in the mid-1960s, fighting one of the chief structural causes of global poverty—rural landlessness. With passion and professionalism, the young attorney attracted a small team who shared his vision and his commitment. As a result of Mr. Prosterman’s leadership, RDI has become an extraordinarily effective advocate for international land law and policy reform. Based in Seattle, with field offices in China, India, and Indonesia, RDI attorneys and staff have worked with the governments of 40 developing nations, foreign aid agencies, and other partners to design and implement fundamental legal, policy and programmatic reforms to help the world’s rural poor.

Described by a nominator as a “worldwide champion of land rights for the world’s poor,” Mr. Prosterman’s leadership of RDI has included work in Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America. Through a comprehensive understanding of rural land issues and the interaction among financial, land, and labor markets the work of Mr. Prosterman and RDI has resulted in more than 400 million people gaining ownership or ownership-like rights to more than 90 million acres of land.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, where he served on the Harvard Law Review board of editors, and the University of Chicago, Mr. Prosterman joined the faculty of the University of Washington Law School in 1965 and was named the first John and Marguerite Walker Corbally Professor in Public Service in 1991. He has been director of the law school’s post-doctoral program in Law of Sustainable International Development.

“Land is the chief source of livelihood for a majority of the world’s poor. And when the legal system is used to provide the poor with assured access and long-term rights to even a small portion of land, it can make a huge difference to their household’s income, security, and status,” Mr. Prosterman said. “The inaugural award of The Kravis Prize is of greatest importance not because it recognizes RDI’s work, or mine, but because it throws a spotlight on the practical steps that can be taken to address major aspects of global poverty by addressing the land issue.”

The current major initiatives of RDI include:

• Global Homesteads Program, collaborating with Indian and Indonesian policymakers to endow the extremely poor with land, with the potential to help hundreds of millions around the globe;
• Women and Land, supporting women’s efforts in developing nations by enhancing their rights to rural land and their ability to control income generated by that land;
• Legal Aid, helping fledgling landowners in the newly privatized farmlands of the former Soviet Republics;
• Post-Conflict Land Dispute Resolution, serving as land-law advisor in Rwanda and Angola;
• Bringing Dead Capital Back to Life, advising the government of China as it undertakes what may be the most extensive property rights reform in history;
• Global Advisor to Foreign Aid Donors, carrying out rural land tenure assignments around the world on behalf of clients including World Bank, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Kravis Prize Background

The Kravis Prize will be awarded annually from nominations representing a broad range of the non-profit field, including economic development, public health, law and justice, culture and education, among other areas.

In 2005 candidates were solicited from an international cadre of confidential nominators selected on the basis of their breadth and depth of knowledge of the non-profit sector. Selection criteria included boldness, innovation, creativity, consistency, persistence, and effectiveness in bringing a vision to fruition, realizing the mission of an organization, and demonstrating best practices in managing that organization.

Nominations were reviewed according to quantitative and qualitative state-of the -art measures focused primarily on direct impact. The assessment framework also provided for a qualitative analysis of bold, visionary leadership and for review of financial stability and integrity, governance and management stability.

The Kravis Prize Selection Committee made its determination after reviewing extensive data within the context of the overall methodology.

The Organizing Committee, led by Mr. Kravis, includes: Peter Barker, chairman of the CMC Board of Trustees and advisory director, Goldman Sachs & Co.; Pamela Gann, CMC president; Harry McMahon, CMC trustee, chairman of the Kravis Leadership Institute Advisory Board, and vice chairman, Merrill Lynch & Co.; and Scott Miller, president, Six Sigma Academy, Aspen, Colo.

The Kravis Leadership Institute, which co-sponsors the Prize, is central to the Claremont McKenna College mission of preparing students for responsible leadership in business, the professions, and public affairs. KLI plays an active role in the education of CMC students by involving them in professional research on leadership research issues and by offering an intense, interdisciplinary leadership curriculum—combining classroom study with hands-on leadership experience. Through its academic research, model leadership development programs, broad leadership curriculum and systematic outreach efforts, the Kravis Leadership Institute has become one of the most recognized leadership programs in higher education.

“The Kravis Prize provides a unique platform from which to celebrate and honor
visionary leaders such as Roy Prosterman, whose commitment and overall excellence have charted groundbreaking new paths within the philanthropic arena,” said President Gann.
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Claremont McKenna College is a highly selective, independent liberal arts college educating leaders in business, the professions and public affairs. A member of The Claremont Colleges, in Claremont, California, CMC is consistently ranked among the nation’s best colleges. For further information regarding the Kravis Prize, please visit www.kravisprize.claremontmckenna.edu or contact Carolyn Wagner, Executive Director of the Kravis Leadership Institute.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Evie Lazzarino
Claremont McKenna College
400 North Claremont Blvd.
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 607-9099 office; (909) 322-3134 cell
evie.lazzarino@claremontmckenna.edu
www.claremontmckenna.edu

Barbara Sacerdote
Rural Development Institute
1411 Fourth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 528-5880 ext. 108
barbaras@rdiland.org
www.rdiland.org