Big Ten Network to Debut New Documentary Series

CHICAGO --- The Big Ten Network (BTN) is debuting a new television series called “Impact the World,” which shifts the focus from the playing field to the world stage, where Northwestern University and other Big Ten institutions continue to make their presence known. The show debuts Tuesday, Jan. 10 and will air weekly throughout the season.

The series will be hosted by actor Dennis Haysbert (“24”) and will include 24 stories from all 12 Big Ten institutions. Northwestern stories include:

• Groundbreaking research from Dr. Teepu Siddique, the Les Turner ALS Foundation/Herbert C. Wenske Professor of the Davee Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurosciences at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, regarding the common cause of all forms of ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. --- Airing Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 pm CST.
• SCAPE --- Serving Communities and Promoting Engagement, an opportunity for more than 2,000 new Northwestern students and 250 peer advisors to fan out to 40 sites around Evanston and Chicago for a day of community service. --- Airing Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 9:30 pm CST.

“Impact the World” is the first BTN collaborative campus program series produced in conjunction with the Big Ten Conference and its 12 universities.  Since the network launched in 2007, BTN has aired programs produced from each Big Ten university under the University Showcase heading. Northwestern has been a leading producer of such programs.

BTN is co-producing the series with Chicago-based TeamWorks Media, a creative content company that specializes in producing inspirational stories.