About NaropaLeadership

Leadership

The Office of the President, located in the Lincoln Building on the Arapahoe Campus, includes the president, trustees, and president emeritus.

Dr. Paul Burkhardt succeeds Charles G. Lief, JD, Naropa’s seventh president, who has served for 13 years. Dr. Burkhardt received his doctoral degree with honors in comparative cultural and literary studies from the University of Arizona. 

Since the founding of the Naropa Institute in 1974, many individuals have contributed to its growth and development. While the designations of Naropa’s leadership positions have changed over its history, each of the individuals in these positions of leadership has offered exemplary vision and direction to shape Naropa’s path.

The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) is a new leadership model, one that broadens leadership over strategic initiatives to include more significant involvement of academic and student support areas, through the inclusion of deans and senior directors. Naropa’s newly formed decision-making body, ELC is charged with the overall accountability for creating and implementing institutional initiatives. 

The Naropa University Board of Trustees is the legal entity responsible for ensuring the overall welfare of Naropa University. The board sets policy, articulates and champions the ongoing mission of the university, and ensures sufficient resources to develop and carry forward that mission. The administration and staff are responsible for daily operations following the guidelines of the board’s policies.

Contact the Office of the President

Naropa University
Office of the President
2130 Arapahoe Avenue
Boulder, Colorado 80302
Email: president@naropa.edu
Phone: 303-245-4804

Rachel Solum, Sr. Executive Assistant and Project Manager for the Office of the President
303-245-4804
rsolum@naropa.edu

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This is where experiential learning meets academic rigor. Where you challenge your intellect and uncover your potential. Where you discover the work you’re moved to do—then use it to transform our world.

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About Naropa

Located in Boulder, Colorado, Naropa University is a Buddhist-inspired, nonsectarian liberal arts university that is recognized as the birthplace of the mindfulness movement. Naropa offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that emphasize professional and personal growth, intellectual development, and cultivating compassion. 

Academics

Contemplative education brings together the best of Western scholarship and Eastern world wisdom traditions. Therefore, your pursuit of wisdom at Naropa means learning both about academic subjects and about your own place in the world. This innovative approach places Naropa on the cutting edge of the newest and most effective methods of teaching and learning.  

Admissions & Aid

If you’re seeking an education that resonates with both personal fulfillment and global impact, Naropa could be your top choice. At Naropa, you will experience a comprehensive curriculum that integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational approaches. Explore how Naropa can fuel your journey of intellectual and spiritual development.

Life at Naropa

Through its incredibly vibrant and welcoming community,  “Naropa offers a home for those who aren’t willing to conform to convention—the mystic, the healer, the prophet, the rebel, the artist, the revolutionary, the oddball—those who are incredible contributors to the evolution of society and of our planet.”—Core Associate Professor Zvi Ish-Shalom

The Naropa Difference

How is Naropa different from other universities? At Naropa, a liberal arts education balances rigorous academics with powerful interpersonal skills and self-awareness to educate the whole person. Naropa’s contemplative approach is inspired by Buddhist philosophy and the conviction that we can build a diverse, contemplative, enlightened society when we have transformed education to affirm the basic goodness of every person. 

Support Naropa

At a time when the value of higher education is being questioned, Naropa University stands firmly rooted in its mission to create a more just and regenerative world by nurturing insight, awareness, courage, and compassion in its students. By making a gift to Naropa, you play a pivotal role in helping to create the authentic, effective & mindful leaders that the world desperately needs.

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Naropa University campuses are closed on 12/17/2025. 

Due to adverse weather conditions of high winds and planned power outages, all Naropa campuses will be closed today.