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Barbara Bash is an accomplished calligrapher and performance artist who taught at Naropa in its early days. She taught students to engage with their art in a mindful and meaningful way, and demonstrated the relationship between precision and spontaneity through letterform and brushstroke practice. Photo courtesy of Naropa Archive.
Barbara Bash is an accomplished calligrapher and performance artist who taught at Naropa in its early days. She taught students to engage with their art in a mindful and meaningful way, and demonstrated the relationship between precision and spontaneity through letterform and brushstroke practice. Photo courtesy of Naropa Archive.

President

Charles G. Lief

Vice President for Development, Enrollment & Student Success

Ann Marie Klotz, PhD

Senior Director for Marketing

Stephen Dill

Executive Editors

Cassandra Smith; Ben Williams, PhD

Assistant Editor

Jessie Thomas

Designers

Marcos Perez, Nancy McLaughlin

Writers

Kendall Higgins, Lisa Birman

Contributors

Judith Simmer-Brown, PhD; Mark Miller; Steven Taylor, PhD; Ramon Parish; Seann Goodman; Andrew Schelling; Carole Clements; Netanel Miles-Yepez, DD; Amelia Hall, PhD; Jordan Quaglia, PhD; Lindsay Randol, PsychD; Francis Kaklauskas, PsyD; Lawrence Welsh

Web Manager & Proofreader

Danielle Poitras

Photographers

Sofia Drobinskaya, Jessie Thomas, Crystal Street

Share your story ideas and feedback at magazine@naropa.edu. Copyright 1999–2024 Naropa University. All rights reserved.

Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to its mission of contemplative education. This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational institutions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate degree programs in the arts, counseling, psychology, and religious studies.

Naropa Magazine is available to all alumnx and friends of Naropa University. If you have an address change or would like to be removed from the mailing list, contact alumnxupdates@naropa.eduor 303-546-3595.

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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. 

 

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Spring and Summer Start Dates for the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Concentrations

In support of students and in response to federal legislation impacting financial aid for graduate students, Naropa University will be accepting applications for MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling for spring starts through January 10.

Graduate School of Counseling concentrations listed below will be offering online and low-residency courses to start their programs in January 2026 as well as our Summer 2026 terms.

Beginning a graduate program in Spring 2026 or Summer 2026 means that you will have access to apply for Graduate Plus loans as these loans will be eliminated at the federal level starting in Fall 2026.

Contact Admissions (admissions@naropa.edu) today to learn how you can begin the next step in your graduate education journey.

Apply Now