Robert Thurman speaks at ASU's West campus

March 24, 2006

Arizona State University’s Campus Environment Team will present a public lecture featuring Robert Thurman, an international authority on world religions and spirituality, and chair of Religious Studies at Columbia University. Thurman’s lecture is titled "Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict: Lessons from the Tibetans and the Buddhist Tradition."

The lecture is presented as part of the Campus Environment Team’s Diversity Speaker Series. It is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 18, in the University Center Building, La Sala, at ASU’s West campus, 4701 W. Thunderbird Road, Phoenix.

"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to host Dr. Thurman on our campus," said Jane Carey, co-chair of the Campus Environment Team and associate professor in the School of Global Management and Leadership. "He is a gifted communicator who makes complex ideas understandable, presenting them with intelligence and humor in a down-to-earth way."

Thurman lectures internationally at universities, companies, conferences and think tanks. In 1997, he was named one of "TIME" magazine’s 25 most influential Americans. Inspired by the Dalai Lama, Thurman presents the inherent openness and vitality of the spiritual life. Whether examining the sweep of history, the subtleties of the inner psyche or the intimate workings of the heart, he reveals to audiences an expanded vision of the world.

In 1987, at the request of the Dalai Lama, Thurman co-founded Tibet House U.S. with Richard Gere and Philip Glass, later joined by daughter Uma Thurman and others. The museum and cultural center is dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan civilization and offers programs in all of the Tibetan arts and sciences.

"Eastern traditions can fortify your Christian or Jewish life and can be incorporated into your life at any age," said Thurman. "It’s about enriching what you already are."

Thurman is the author of the bestseller "Inner Revolution," one of "Publishers Weekly’s" best books of 1998. He translated "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" and wrote many other books, including: "The Central Philosophy of Tibet;" "Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet;" and "Circling the Sacred Mountain."

ASU’s Campus Environment Team works to promote civility, justice, diversity, respect for all individuals, freedom of expression and academic inquiry, and the pursuit of individual goals without interference from discriminatory harassment.