Naropa University - History

History

Naropa University was founded by Chögyam Trungpa, an exiled Tibetan tulku who was a Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineage holder, and scholar of comparative religion at Oxford University in England. Trungpa entered the USA in 1970, established the Vajradhatu organization in 1973, and then in 1974, established Naropa Institute under the Nalanda Foundation. Initially, the Nalanda Foundation and Vajradhatu were closely linked, having nearly identical boards of directors. In subsequent years they differentiated into more independent institutions.

Trungpa asked poets Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, John Cage and Diane di Prima to found a poetics department at Naropa during the first summer session. Ginsberg and Waldman, who roomed together that first summer, came up with the name for the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics.

Naropa's first formal degree programs were offered in 1975-76. These included a BA in Buddhist studies and visual art, MA in psychology, MFA in visual art, and expressive arts certificates in dance, theater and poetics.

The MA in psychology was originally designed as an extension of Trungpa's Maitri program—a 16-week meditation course held in Connecticut, and based on Vajrayana teachings on esoteric energy patterns within the mind and body. Trungpa asked Marvin Casper to restructure the Maitri program for use at Naropa as a full-fledged graduate degree program in contemplative psychology. Casper went on to chair that department and edit two of Trungpa’s books. Initially for the degree, students were required to attend three of the institute’s summer sessions, take two Maitri programs in Connecticut and complete a six-month independent project.

In 1977, at Trungpa's urging, Naropa's administration made the decision to seek regional accreditation. Evaluation visits continued through 1986 and, in 1988, Naropa Institute received accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In the mid-1980s, Naropa's president, Barbara Dilley, asked Lucien Wulsin to chair the board of directors. One of Wulsin's first acts was to formally separate Naropa from Vajradhatu. Ties with Vajradhatu were further weakened with the physical relocation of Vajradhatu's main center to Halifax, and then by Trungpa's death in 1987.

In 1991 Naropa's board of trustees hired John Cobb, a Harvard-educated lawyer and practicing Buddhist, as president. Thomas B. Coburn served in this role from 2003–2009, succeeded by Stuart C. Lord in July 2009.1 Naropa denotes Buddhist teacher Sakyong Mipham as its current lineage holder.