Naropa University Celebrates 35th Academic Year with New Developments, Personalities, and Objectives

BOULDER, Colo. (August 21, 2009)—Naropa University begins its 35th academic year on Monday, August 24. The university has seen major changes in the last year: the election of a new president, the creation of a new undergraduate minor, and a growing student government dedicated to serving the Naropa community. With the fall semester right around the corner, it is an exciting time to be a Naropa student.    

Dr. Stuart C. Lord became the fifth president of Naropa in July 2009, taking over from Dr. Thomas B. Coburn. Since President Lord arrived in Boulder, he has been very active in reaching out to the Naropa community and to the Front Range region. For example, Lord met for a dinner with the Boulder City Council on Aug. 11, held listening circles with alumni and staff, and he has been featured or quoted in recent news stories in the Boulder Daily Camera and Denver Post.

Incoming Naropa students will get a special chance to meet with Lord on Wednesday, Aug. 26, when he will hold a sleepover at the Snow Lion residence hall. Lord views the sleepover as an opportunity to have informal dialogue with the first-year students, and to move forward with his objective of engaging members of the community through listening. The agenda includes a pizza party, followed by dialogue and conversation with groups of 20 students at a time, a midnight meditation and informal conversation.

Starting this fall, Naropa now offers an undergraduate minor program in Gender and Women’s Studies, a program that came to fruition after a year of effort by dedicated Naropa students. The program focuses on the interactions between race, class and, gender, as well as the complex social structures that arise from them. This will be the first diversity-centered program to be offered by Naropa, and it will be the first and only program in the U.S. to offer a contemplative approach to gender and women’s studies.

Phil Battos, who was elected as student trustee by the United Naropa (UN) branch of Naropa’s student government, reports that student interest and involvement is growing.

Battos said the UN and the Student Life Programming (SLP) branch of the Student Union of Naropa (SUN) will meet for an Aug. 29-30 joint retreat in Estes Park, which will be the first overnight, off-campus retreat ever for the two branches. He said there are now more than 30 students in the two branches, and eight students have already signed up in 2009—before the beginning of fall semester.

New projects for 2009 will include a renovation of Naropa’s Student Center. SUN has recently obtained a ping-pong table, a pool table, a DVD player and a Nintendo Wii video game system. It also plans to have new sound-dampening materials, lighting, room dividers, tables and artwork installed in the Student Center.

Battos said SUN plans to work directly with President Lord to maintain a strong line of communication between students and Naropa staff. He said SUN members will work with Lord during Student Listening Circles to be held on Sept. 3 and 9, and they will help plan activities for Lord’s inauguration in late October. Also, SUN is forming a Student Publications Group to produce student-generated content, which could include an online newspaper.

“This fall will be a dynamic time for student government,” said Battos.

It’s also a time of change for the incoming students. Friends and first-year students Sam Fajerstein and Yoram Shanan both left Chicago to come to Naropa. They reported strong first impressions of the community. Shanan spoke highly of Boulder’s natural and architectural beauty, along with its open and progressive attitude. While Boulder differs greatly from Chicago in many ways, Shanan is adapting to his new environment.

“One of my initial goals is to develop a sense of community here and contribute to that community,” said Shanan. “I also intend to learn skills that will benefit how I study – first by learning more about myself and how I work.”

Fajerstein is a jazz musician who went to an art high school in Chicago, and he decided to come to Naropa after having a long conversation with Janet Feder, the chair of Naropa’s Music department.

“I was already interested in coming to Naropa, but I was really impressed with the personal nature of our conversation,” said Fajerstein. “I couldn’t have had that conversation with the people at my high school.”

Fajerstein also noted that his high school music education was very technical, but it didn’t deeply emphasize feeling and expression. He said Naropa will provide an environment that encourages self-expression, while the broader Boulder community has an “amazing” music scene that includes a great deal of street music and performance arts.

Naropa hit its enrollment target for the fall, with an estimated total 1,041 students—445 undergraduates and 596 graduates.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education. This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology and religious studies.

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