Judith Simmer-Brown, Distinguished Professor Emeritx of Contemplative and Religious Studies, has been on the faculty since 1978 and was introduced to interreligious dialogue by her teacher, Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, shortly after she began teaching at Naropa. For eight years, she directed Naropa’s historic Buddhist-Christian dialogues, joining in as a dialogue partner with renowned contemplatives like H. H. the XIV Dalai Lama, Fr. Thomas Keating, Br. David Steindl-Rast, Eido Shimano Roshi, Mother Tessa Bielecki, Pema Chodron, and Munindra-ji. Simmer-Brown is a pillar of the interreligious dialogue community and creator of Naropa’s innovative Interreligious Dialogue course (now called Interspiritual Dialogue).
Netanel Miles-Yépez, the current Chair of Religious Studies, has been on the faculty since 2013, and was introduced to interreligious dialogue by his teacher, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the former World Wisdom Chair at Naropa in 1998. In 2016, his foundation took over the famous “Snowmass Dialogues” of Father Thomas Keating, and today he continues Dr. Simmer-Brown’s interreligious dialogue course at Naropa.
Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024. All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.
Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.
Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.
As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.
Regardless of Naropa University’s decision, if you ever believe the weather conditions are unsafe, please contact your supervisor and professors. Naropa University trusts you to make thoughtful and wise decisions based on the conditions and situation in which you find yourself in.
