¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä

CAS Tibetan and Himalayan studies teaching associate professor Dan Hirshberg won a Khyentse Foundation Academic Development Grant cost matched by Daryl Maeda, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, to fund his position in academic year 2026–27.Ìý

Focusing on contemplative pedagogy in his course designs and his grant application, Dan wrote: "such high-impact experiential learning can be seen as a contemporary innovation of Tibetan and Buddhist contemplative techniques to benefit those who do not necessarily ascribe to their tenets. Moreover, at a time when the humanities and international area studies in the US are under severe threat, explicitly targeted for abolishment by the federal government, such interdisciplinarity across the humanities, arts and sciences extends a bridge to demonstrate the unparalleled depth and richness of these humanistic traditions, not just as historical and cultural artifacts, but as ever-relevant living processes, evolving and innovating such that they can be effectively applied in secular educational contexts. How can we demonstrate, through the curriculum we design and for the students we reach, that for over 2500 years, these lineages of extraordinary rigor, discipline, experimentation and innovation have offered diverse peoples, of countless cultural and historical contexts, the means for them to flourish? We must help students directly experience for themselves that they still do."

Khyentse Foundation is a global nonprofit organization established in 2001 to actualize the vision of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche by preserving and promoting the wisdom of the Buddha. It functions primarily as a funding institution that supports individuals and projects committed to the study, practice, and dissemination of Buddhist teachings across all traditions in a nonsectarian spirit. The foundation’s work encompasses major initiatives in Buddhist scholarship, text preservation and translation, monastic and teacher training, academic development, educational programs for children, and practitioner support. Through grants, scholarships, awards, and seed funding, Khyentse Foundation aids scholars, practitioners, translators, institutions, and emerging initiatives worldwide, with the goal of enabling the Buddha’s insights to flourish in contemporary contexts.
Ìý