I am pleased to announce that the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet has accepted our invitation to visit campus and share his views on education and the pursuit of knowledge. At this time we are working with the Dalai Lama’s North American Representative to secure a date. We are aware of the Dalai Lama’s health concerns and that he has temporarily suspended his travel commitments. Our future actions will depend on his health and decisions from his office. We are hopeful that the visit will occur during the academic year of 2009-10 or in fall 2010.
Looking ahead, this is an opportunity for the entire campus, community and state to come together and celebrate our commitment to all aspects of education and reflect on the everlasting impression we can leave on each person we encounter — both in and out of the classroom.
I look forward to working with the whole campus community to create a truly special series of events culminating in an important and powerful day at UNI with the Dalai Lama. A steering committee will be appointed, and I encourage the entire campus to begin considering how best to make the visit a learning opportunity for all.
We will provide you with updates as information becomes available.
Benjamin Allen
President
University of Northern Iowa
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Affiliated Events
A Continuing & Distance Education course
The Dalai Lama: A Sacred Tradition and a Political Institution
University of Northern Iowa Continuing & Distance Education is accepting enrollments for the upcoming two-credit-hour course, The Dalai Lama: A Sacred Tradition and a Political Institution. This spring 2010 interdisciplinary course is open to members of the community with an interest in the Dalai Lama. Students in the course will get a look into the life and ideas of His Holiness the Dalai Lama – Nobel peace prize-winner and wise, gentle teacher.
Coursework, materials and discussions will focus on: (1) Who is the Dalai Lama?; (2) Why is he important to the Tibetan people?; and (3) What does he stand for, and how has he parlayed his unique significance to the Tibetan people into a more universal appeal that has given him immediate access to practically every country in the world?
All UNI students who complete the course will receive a ticket to the Dalai Lama keynote event on May 18.
January 21 – April 17, 2010
Various Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings
Schindler Education Center
To enroll
- UNI students: enroll for course number 010:159, section 1T through MyUNIverse
- Community members: $530 tuition and fees for 2 hours undergraduate credit (or audit). Enroll for course number 010:159 through Continuing & Distance Education.
- Teachers: $500 tuition for 2 hours graduate credit (reflects special workshop rate for teachers). Enroll for course number 210:133g through Continuing & Distance Education.
Tuition rates, fees and course schedule are subject to change.
Instructors
- Jeannie Steele, professor, Curriculum & Instruction, University of Northern Iowa
- Visiting scholar The Venerable Geshe Thupten Dorjee, instructor, University of Arkansas, and Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas co-founder
- Visiting scholar Sidney Burris, professor of English, Fulbright College Honors and Religious Studies Programs, University of Arkansas, and Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas co-founder
Questions?
Phone: 800-648-3864 or 319-273-2121
E-mail: ContinuingEd@uni.edu
Various events will be scheduled around the visit of the Dalai Lama to UNI, including presentations, displays, etc. Events will be added to the Web site as they are finalized.
A Lifelong University course
The Buddhism of the Dalai Lama
Tibetan Buddhism is often considered strange and obscure but the best-known figure of this religion, the Dalai Lama, explains that it is a religion of compassion and peace, and committing oneself to the happiness of others. This course explores the basic teachings of Buddhism and looks particularly at its Tibetan form.
Nov. 3, 10, 17
1:30 – 3 p.m.
Alumni Suite, McLeod Center
Tuition: $30
Instructor: James Robinson, associate professor, world religions
University of Northern Iowa
Call 319-273-6899 for availability.
Sand mandala constructed at UNI
The University of Northern Iowa hosted four visitors from the Tibetan Cultural Institute and the University of Arkansas in April, 2009 who constructed a sand mandala. Mandalas are geometric patterns laid out with compasses and chalk lines and then filled in, grain by grain, with sand ground from white marble and colored. The sand is applied with small tubes, funnels and scrapers until the pattern is achieved. They’re believed to hold magical power and said to prolong life and protect against evil.