Visible Soul has an interview with Naropa alum Jeremy Williams, who "has led the creation of over 20 original works with theatre, dance, music, puppet, visual, and technology artists in addition to staging existing plays and musicals."

The Allen Ginsberg Project: "Our friend Kirt Markle has been busy experimenting with collage images for quite some time. Starting with still images, he's recently moved into treating video & film footage with visual collage & textures. This round he took on Allen's 'Gospel Noble Truths' performed with Steven Taylor, with stunning & pleasing effect."

Craig (CO) Daily Press: "Sandrock Elementary School 5th-grade teacher uses contemplative education."

NPR: "The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., is home to the only Buddhist chapel on a U.S. military base. After a controversy over religious intolerance during the summer of 2005, the chapel was built in the basement of the academy's iconic Cadet Chapel."

ACRLog: "This could be the tipping point. The time has come for faculty and librarians working with undergraduates to loosen up. In the cosmic scale of things, this manual labor really is trivial, but it carries a huge carbon footprint. For every hour spent writing a paper, at least an equivalent hour is spent trying to figure out whether you need a comma or a period here, which city out of the six on the title page is the one to use, what database you printed that article out of, or trying to identify the website of a journal for an article published in 1986 that you printed off JSTOR, given the publication changed titles three times and switched publishers five time since then. As this activity always happens in the wee hours of the morning on the day the paper is due, lights and computers have to be running, so we’re talking about a major energy drain...And what exactly are the learning outcomes of creating an error-free list of references? You learn that research is a pain in the butt."

"Held in conjunction with the Inauguration of President Stuart C. Lord, Naropa University presents a Day of Service and Learning on Friday, October 30. The service day celebrates Dr. Lord’s and Naropa’s commitment to community engagement and also provides meaningful opportunities for Naropa students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and friends to volunteer in the greater community. In addition, Naropa community members will have an opportunity to better understand the relationship between education and social issues...This event is open to the general public."

Bombay Gin and not enough night. Haven't checked them out yet? You should!

Hi, Everyone!

During my first year at Naropa I had a Community class. My community group planted a Moongold Apricot Tree. It’s located next to a bunch of trash barrels on the Paramita campus. Our tree is not in a very pretty place, but I like to visit it regularly because it means a lot to me.

We needed to offer something to the community, so we thought that planting a tree was a good way to help the environment. It is also a symbol of fruition - we see the tree grow as our class keeps growing and evolving as well.

There is a Sungold apricot tree in the other side of the fence. Both will connect as they grow and cross-pollinate. We thought both trees were a symbol of connection between the outside community (Moongold outside the fence) and Naropa community (Sungold inside the fence). They are also a symbol of the merging of opposites, moon and sun, feminine and masculine, yin and yang.

Welcome to the Naropa University Annual Fund blog!

My name is Jim. I work in the Advancement Office at Naropa University. I'll be posting here from time to time, but the real star this semester is our guest blogger, Diane Melendez.

Diane is a student in the MA Contemplative Psychotherapy program. She's the smiling face on those post cards we sent out. She also has a featured interview in the upcoming issue of Naropa Magazine.

Hope you enjoy reading her posts.

-Jim

"A new position has been created to help improve conservation efforts within the City of Gillette. Michael Foote is the city’s new sustainability coordinator."

Via Rachel Leow:

"Malaysia's modern-art scene grows up," an article from the Wall Street Journal.

Daily Camera: "Moondance Festival back for its tenth year."

The Naropa University professor and author of The Courage to Be Present is blogging at Psychology Today.

Inside Higher Ed: "College officials renamed the garden last spring as part of its Institute for Forgiveness and Reconciliation. As many other colleges seek to advance their missions by building new, state-of-the-art centers designed to propel them into the 21st century, Chestnut Hill is looking to emphasize the principles that the Sisters of St. Joseph - the college’s founding order of nuns - have espoused since the 17th century."

Boardmember.com: "Three times a year, the 24 members of Naropa’s board — about half of whom are American Buddhists — convene for two or three days of meetings at one of the university’s three campuses. Students, staff, and faculty are generally welcome to attend board meetings, so they’re held, whenever possible, while classes are in session. Each day of meetings begins with a half-hour of meditation, which is voluntary, though most board members take part."

"Random Acts of Poetry, a celebration of poetry and literacy, begins its sixth year during the week of October 5 to 11, 2009. Random Acts of Poetry is a project of the Victoria READ Society, a non-profit literacy organization, established in 1976. Random Acts of Poetry is funded by The Canada Council for the Arts."