Press Releases

   Naropa University President Coburn Ending Term, Dr. Lord Ready to Take the Helm

BOULDER, Colo. (June 30, 2009) With deep gratitude for his service, the Naropa University
community will soon say farewell to Thomas B. Coburn, Naropa’s fourth president.
Coburn’s last day as president will be Tuesday, June 30. Both Coburn and the Naropa
community await the arrival of the university’s next president, Dr. Stuart Lord, with great
excitement.

“It’s been an extraordinary privilege to serve as Naropa’s president for the past six years,”
said Coburn on June 24. “The combination of distinctive mission and skilled colleagues has,
I think, enabled us to strengthen the academic program and the overall university
substantially. I have greatly enjoyed working with my successor, Dr. Stuart Lord, during the
transition period, and I share the trustees’ conviction that he is the ideal candidate to move us
to the next level of institutional excellence.”

Coburn will leave Naropa with an impressive list of professional and personal
accomplishments. Highlights of his tenure include:
    *  Building Naropa’s stature as a leader in contemplative education and as an institution
        on the leading edge of transforming higher education.
    *  The creation of a detailed, multi-year strategic plan entitled “Deliver Distinction with
         Excellence,” which will guide Naropa’s pursuits of educational excellence for years
         to come.
    *  A 60 percent increase in institutional funds dedicated to financial aid. Approximately
        44 percent of Naropa’s students are Pell Grant-eligible, double the national average,
        putting Naropa among national leaders in providing access to higher education for
        lower-income students.
    *  Securing funding from the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for Naropa’s annual
        Contemplative Pedagogy Seminar, attracting visiting national and international
        faculty to the campus every summer.

In recognition of his distinguished service, the Naropa University Board of Trustees has
awarded Thomas B. Coburn the honorary title of President Emeritus.

Naropa University has raised $35K for the Coburn Berry Scholarship, a newly endowed
scholarship program named after President Coburn and his wife, Leigh Berry. The needbased
scholarship will be awarded to 1st generation undergraduate college students. To
contribute to Naropa University scholarship programs please go to www.naropa.edu.

Coburn will also be remembered for his personal graciousness and generosity. He opened his
home to welcome new students and to provide faculty members a place to gather. He was
committed to expanding access to education for all students and to creating an
environmentally sustainable campus.

Dr. Lord is uniquely poised to build upon Coburn’s legacy and execute Naropa’s strategic
plan. Dr. Lord comes to Naropa with a strong background in higher education and leadership,
with highlights including:
     *  Serving at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, as Associate Provost, Interim Vice
         President for Institutional Diversity and Equity, and Dean of the William Jewett
         Tucker Foundation.
     *  Serving at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN, as University Chaplain, Associate
         Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of Volunteer Programs, and Professor of
         Leadership and Ethics.
     *  Serving as Executive Director of the 1997 President’s Summit for America’s Future,
         working under General Colin Powell during the Clinton administration.
     *  Supervising the fundraising of $30 million for the Tucker Foundation.
     *  Being a nationally recognized expert in service learning, multicultural and spiritual
         education, leadership and ethics.

Dr. Lord has already made positive impressions with both the Naropa and local communities
and recently emphasized to Joel Edelstein, of Boulder’s KGNU radio, that he hopes to
enhance the connection between Naropa students and the community in which they live – a
challenge that he has met successfully in the past at Dartmouth. Dr. Lord increased the
student participation in Dartmouth’s service programs from 45 percent to 70 percent, and he
told Edelstein that he was attracted to Naropa because it already fosters an environment
where students value academics, the contemplative approach, and service.

“It is essential that Naropa students take the opportunity to be engaged in the local
community, whether it is through the Peace Studies program, working in local schools,
working to end racism, or working in hospitals, clinics or hospice centers,” said Dr. Lord.
“The ideal is that people learn to be compassionate human beings.”

Dr. Lord is an ordained minister in the Baptist tradition who also has a strong connection
with Buddhist meditation. Naropa’s Board of Trustees unanimously decided to name Dr.
Lord as the university’s next president, and he expressed great enthusiasm for the
university’s future during his introduction to the Naropa community.

“We, the community of Naropa University, affirm both the idea and ideals of contemplative
education, of its transformative purpose of teaching, learning, discovery and research,” said
Dr. Lord. “My job as president will be to make sure that Naropa not only transforms
students, but also transforms as an institution to be the best contemplative liberal arts
university in the world.”