Naropa University, already engaged in responsible, necessary cuts, is alerted to the theft of nearly half a million dollars.

Click here for our photo tour of the main Arapahoe campus.

It’s sad news when someone rationalizes the stealing of money from a relatively small institution dedicated explicitly to the greater good, contemplative education. For an institution of Naropa’s size, $450,000 over two years could have paid for so many scholarships, so many increased salaries for teachers, so many repairs…it hurts to think about it.

But let’s turn this into a constructive situation, at least to a small extent. Use this tragedy, and our love for Naropa and its past and future, to give, if so inspired:

Via the Daily Camera:

Lord said he could not speculate on why the employee engaged in embezzlement, and he could not discuss how she was able to steal such a large amount of money without being detected because the investigation is ongoing.

Naropa University, a nonsectarian liberal arts school founded on Buddhist principles, has an annual budget of $22 million. While the university is in the process of dealing with an onging budget gap, Lord said the loss of funds from the embezzlement would not affect the university’s finances or programs and would not create any changes for students or faculty.

In other, brighter news, here’s just a hint at what’s going on at Naropa these days:
Hi Way,

Naropa University has a few town halls coming up this month and that are free and open to the public. See list of events with details below.

*   Dr. Paula Green, founder of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding and has been recognized internationally for her conflict resolution work in the Middle East and Bosnia.
*   Dead Man Walking Town Hall- The event will feature a discussion of the death penalty led by Colorado University Sociology Professor Michael Radelet and Howard Morton of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons.
*   Naropa University’s BFA Performance and Peace Studies Department are proud to present “Dead Man Walking” written by director Tim Robbins, as part of the National Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project.
*   Alfie Kohn will deliver a lecture to support his new book, The Homework Myth: Why Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. Time magazine described him as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores.” This event has a entry fee.
*   Congressman Jared Polis Town Hall will speak about education and healthcare.

Building Peace in a Stormy World: A Journey of Service, Hope, and Faith by Paula Green
Performing Arts Center, Naropa University
2130 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302
Wednesday, April 7, 12:00 p.m.
Free

Naropa University presents a Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism public lecture with Dr. Paula Green. Dr. Green was selected as a winner of the Unsung Heroes of Compassion, which was awarded to her by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in April 2009.  She is also the founder of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding and has been recognized internationally for her work in conflict resolution in the Middle East and Bosnia. For more information, please contact Janine Ibbotson at [email protected] or call 303-546-3588.

The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing with Alfie Kohn
Nalanda Events Center, Naropa University
6287 Arapahoe avenue, Boulder, CO 80303
Saturday, April 17, 8:00 a.m.
Tickets: $25.00 General; $10.00 Students

Alfie Kohn will deliver a lecture to support his new book, The Homework Myth: Why Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. Time magazine described him as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores.” His criticisms of competition and rewards have helped to shape the thinking of educators-as well as parents and managers-across the country and abroad. Kohn has been featured on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including the “Today” show and two appearances on “Oprah”; he has been profiled <http://www.alfiekohn.org/articles.htm#intv_profile> in the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, while his work has been described and debated in many other leading publications. He has written eleven books. To purchase tickets, visit http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=197568

Monday, April 19 at noon
Town Hall with Congressman Jared Polis
Performing Arts Center, 2130 Arapahoe Ave.
Free and open to the public. A light lunch will be served.
Boulder’s Congressman Jared Polis will share the latest news from Washington about higher education, health care and immigration.

Polis, the first openly gay man elected to Congress as a freshman, has served on Colorado State Board of Education and founded schools to serve homeless and immigrant populations. His commitment to education and willingness to tackle complex issues has earned him the reputation as a champion of the common people.

Before being elected to Congress, Polis was active in the business world. He started his first company while attending Princeton, American Information Systems. Since then, he has launched several others and he has been called one of America’s “Top Ten Entrepreneurs” by Success Magazine.

In 2000, he founded the Jared Polis Foundation, which provides micro-grants to teachers and schools that have shown outstanding commitment to their community through education. The Foundation’s Community Computer Connection program refurbishes and donates more than 3,500 computers a year to schools and non-profit organizations that serve disadvantaged students.

Naropa University Students Explore Death Penalty as part of the National Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project
Performing Arts Center, Naropa University
2130 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302
Friday, April 30 & Saturday, May 1, 8:00 p.m.
$10 general admission; Free for Students, Seniors

Naropa University’s BFA Performance and Peace Studies Department are proud to present “Dead Man Walking” as part of the National Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project. Written by actor, director Tim Robbins, “Dead Man Walking” has been performed in more than 170 high schools and colleges across the country and brought the issue of the death penalty to life through art, music, and public education. For more information, contact the Box Office at 303-245-4798 or [email protected].