Stuart Sigman, Appointed as Provost of Naropa University

BOULDER, Colo. (March 16, 2010)—Naropa University has appointed Vice President for Academic Affairs Stuart Sigman, PhD, to the newly created position of provost and vice president for academic affairs. The position was approved by the board of trustees on February 20, 2010. Sigman joined the Naropa University community as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty in July 2006. He also serves as professor of interdisciplinary studies.

President Stuart Lord was honored to have Stuart Sigman accept the role of provost, “Dr. Sigman has been instrumental to the growth of Naropa University. As the provost, he will continue to strengthen the institution and help accomplish its goals.”

For nearly 35 years, Naropa University has been at the forefront of an educational model that is as concerned with students’ emotional and personal development as it is with traditional academic learning. This innovative approach to learning is called contemplative education.

A key aspect of Naropa University’s new strategic plan, “Deliver Distinction with Excellence” is the academic plan. Dr. Sigman’s contributions to the new academic plan have strengthened the curriculum, and he is quick to identify the value of this educational model.

“Higher education is increasingly recognizing the role that colleges and universities play in students’ development as socially engaged, moral human beings,” says Sigman. “Naropa’s contemplative approach provides a missing link in much of liberal arts education: the need to integrate traditional critical, analytic and research skills, with the ability for self-reflection, discernment and comfort with uncertainty. We do not simply ask students to meditate; contemplative education invites students to understand themselves, their relationship to others and their relationship to bodies of knowledge.”

The academic plan calls for:

• Faculty implementing a “curricular arc,” a framework of interconnected courses, extracurricular activities, support services and mentorship that will help students identify and reflect upon the progression of their contemplative liberal arts programs.

• Investment in programs that will provide students with opportunities to examine their interests, passions and educational skills and translate these to final capstone projects, research, applied projects and internships, as part of developing a sense of confidence for the work they will do in the world.

• Development of new courses, such as world languages, political science, mathematics and natural science.

Stuart Sigman received his PhD from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania. Since then he has served as the founding dean at Emerson College’s School of Communication, chair for the National Communication Association’s Language and Social Interaction Division, and wrote and edited numerous books on communication and culture. He has been the recipient of numerous grants, including one that led to the creation of the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation Visiting Fellows Program. Sigman resides in Lafayette with his partner, and they have recently adopted a mixed border collie/Australian cattle dog from the Boulder Humane Society.

For a full curriculum vitae, visit http://www.naropa.edu/academicaffairs/cv.cfm.

Naropa University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member 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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