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President John B. Simpson discusses the impact of the Dalai Lama's visit.
Numerous distinguished national and world leaders have come to UB to speak, but no one has created a greater level of excitement on campus or in the community than His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. How has his visit impacted the university community? The broader Western New York community?
Simply put, this is a landmark for UB and for Western New York. These past three days have brought unprecedented numbers of community members to our campus to participate in a whole host of educational opportunities made possible because of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's visit. We're delighted to be able to engage our broader community in this unforgettable experience. Anyone who has seen the atrium of the Center for the Arts over the course of this visit couldn't help but be impressed by the huge number of people there, participating in events surrounding the Dalai Lama's visit. Our campus is still buzzing with the excitement, conversation and flow of ideas generated by the Dalai Lama's time with us at UB, and I think our university and our community will be shaped by this experience for many years to come.
It will take some time yet to appreciate fully the significance of this week's visit by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. To be sure, it was a landmark moment in the history of UB and our community. But I do not want any time to pass without extending my own heartfelt thanks to my UB colleagues.
Throughout the visit, Katherine and I were moved not only by the wisdom and graciousness of our special guest, but by the Herculean efforts of so many of you right here on campus. From the faculty who created such rich scholarly surroundings for the visit, to the dedicated staff who planned and prepared so meticulously, to the thousands of students who attended, volunteered, and—most importantly—learned from the experience, I give you my sincerest thanks. Your hard work, dedication, and passion made the Dalai Lama's visit one that members of the UB and Western New York communities will remember for generations.
Speaking for myself, I think many of us go back to work feeling that the Dalai Lama's message about living a compassionate life has left an indelible impression in the minds and hearts of all of us who participated. His Holiness is one of the world's great teachers. The valuable lessons he shared this week will remain with us forever.
How has the Dalai Lama's visit increased UB's visibility as a leading international institution of higher education?
That His Holiness selected UB for such a lengthy visit speaks volumes about the recognition UB has achieved as a university with a strong international presence and commitment. UB is very much an international community of scholars, with one of the largest international enrollments of any U.S. research university and formal agreements with some 40 universities around the world. This historic visit, in turn, brings even greater visibility to the important role that UB plays in the global arena as a major international university. In the process, it focuses national and international attention on our surrounding Western New York community as well.
How has the Dalai Lama's visit dovetailed with UB's role as a forum for public discourse and informed debate?
UB's global reach was a major factor in His Holiness' decision to honor us with an unprecedented three-day visit, and since learning of this decision, we have been hard at work to make sure that we made the most of this rare opportunity. The guiding mission of our academic community is to provide a forum in which all students, faculty and members of the larger communities served by our university can come together to learn, explore, debate and question. We, therefore, sought to transform this visit by His Holiness the Dalai Lama into an unparalleled learning opportunity for both the campus and Western New York communities. This has given UB an opportunity to involve a much wider range of students, faculty and community members in a series of events, lectures, classes, exhibitions, services and programs focusing on global issues, human rights and nonviolent conflict resolution.
In these times of increasing international turmoil and polarization, what does it mean for UB to host the Dalai Lama?
As a major research university located on an international border, UB is the ideal site to foster discussions focusing on promoting peace across borders. And in these troubled times of international strife and cultural conflict, the Dalai Lama's message of peace across national and cultural borders resonates very strongly. Higher education institutions have a vital role to play in educating the global citizens of the 21st century. We have in this sense both a valuable opportunity and a profound responsibility: to help shape the world of tomorrow by educating the students who will be its future leaders across the globe. UB takes this charge very much to heart, and we are committed to educating world citizens who are globally and culturally aware, open-minded and forward-looking.
I understand that you've had many opportunities to meet with the Dalai Lama during his visit, including a private audience with him, as well as meetings with students and faculty and the public lecture. Which of the Dalai Lama's messages have you found especially meaningful?
The Dalai Lama shared far too many meaningful insights for me to list here, of course, but let me mention one that encapsulates many of the remarkable messages we heard over the past three days, and one that builds on the notion of education's global importance. An underlying theme running throughout the Dalai Lama's visit is his message that education is of absolutely primary importance in ensuring the future of all people. His Holiness is strongly committed to the education of all, and he pointed to the successes of Tibetan students studying at UB as an example of this. During Tuesday's address in UB Stadium, His Holiness reflected that "unbiased compassion" is the foundation for a truly global community. Understanding, empathy and compassion, he noted, transform strangers into neighbors, regardless of national borders, geographic boundaries and cultural divides. He went on to comment on the vitally important role that the world's educational systems play in fostering such understanding across borders, emphasizing the responsibility that universities like UB have in educating world citizens who embrace these values and thereby contribute to a true and pervading sense of global community. That message resonates strongly for UB—in many ways, it goes to the heart of our mission as an international community of scholars committed to serving the greater public good.
What should we all take away from the Dalai Lama's visit?
I believe that the Dalai Lama—who established "Promoting Peace Across Borders Through Education" as the theme of this visit—is, in essence, a teacher in the most profound sense of this word. I think this visit teaches us first and foremost that the opportunities for education—and for greater understanding throughout our global community—are everywhere and all around us. I have every expectation that the important conversations begun this week will be the start of sustained dialogue for our university and our community in the months and years ahead, and I hope that they will set in motion the active exchange of ideas and viewpoints, not just here at UB, but regionally, nationally and globally as well.