Mar 14, 2024 Cathryn McCue Dean Solomon, Professors Gelsdorf and Scholer to Meet with the Dalai Lama Next week, Batten Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer will travel to Dharamsala, India with leaders from UVA’s Contemplative Sciences Center to spend a week in conversation and community with practitioners and researchers in the contemplative sciences from around the world, including this year’s cohort of Dalai Lama Fellows. They will also have an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama during their stay. Under the theme of “Compassion in Action,” the attendees will share their wisdom, learn from each other and deepen their understanding of what it means to lead from the heart and how that translates into real-world positive change. “The work the Dalai Lama has done particularly on compassion has been compelling to me as a world philosophy and approach to peacemaking,” Solomon says. “Clearly our capacity as a species to learn to get along and to co-exist peaceably and non-violently is one of the greatest challenges we grapple with.” Begun in 2010 with the support of the Dalai Lama, the fellowship is jointly hosted by UVA’s Contemplative Sciences Center, whose new building, the Contemplative Commons, will open this spring, the University of Colorado Boulder’s Renee Crown Wellness Institute, and Stanford University’s Office for Religious and Spiritual Life. It is an independent, non-sectarian program integrating contemplative practices and personal flourishing with social innovation that has generated an active global leadership network for current and emerging change makers. “These are the types of leaders we are eager to be supporting and developing here at the Batten School. They are doing such interesting things in every part of the world, and taking risks, demonstrating courage, really trying hard to serve their communities,” says Solomon, who invited several of the fellows to Pavillion X for an informal evening of conversation during their weeklong visit to UVA last summer. He is also eager to have the opportunity to work closely with Gelsdorf, professor of practice of public policy, director of Batten’s Global Humanitarian Policy and expert in humanitarian aid strategy, and Scholer, Batten Family Bicentennial Distinguished Leadership Professor of Public Policy and expert in the intersection of motivational thinking and leadership. “We are all interested in seeing how contemplative practices can enrich the quality of teaching and research here at Batten and in thinking about what this means for our ambition, our aspiration to have the most impactful leadership education and public policy scholarship in the world,” Solomon says. Look for a follow-up story in April of reflections from Solomon, Gelsdorf and Scholer about their experience. Learn about the Dalai Lama Fellowship and "Compassion in Action" Ian H. Solomon Ian H. Solomon is dean of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, where he leads a multidisciplinary faculty in creating new knowledge and developing leaders who can solve humanity’s greatest policy challenges. Trained as a lawyer, Solomon is a devoted student and teacher of both negotiation and conflict resolution. Read full bio Abigail Scholer Abigail Scholer is Batten Family Bicentennial Distinguished Leadership Professor of Public Policy and professor of public policy and psychology at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Scholer studies fundamental and basic processes related to goal pursuit, decision-making, social regulation, motivated social cognition, and behavior change, with an aim for understanding how these basic processes can be leveraged to address societal challenges and improve people’s lives. Read full bio Kirsten Gelsdorf Kirsten Gelsdorf is a professor of practice in public policy and Co-Director of the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Gelsdorf has 19 years of experience working in the humanitarian sector, most recently serving as the Chief of the Policy Analysis and Innovation section at the United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Read full bio Related Content Ian H. Solomon Compassion in Action: Contemplative Science and Practice in the Classroom and the World News In March 2024, Batten School Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer joined dozens of scholars and others from around the world in Dharamsala, India, to meet with the Dalai Lama and explore ways to bring contemplative science and practice into teaching, research, policymaking and leadership in all sectors. UVA Reappoints Ian Solomon as Dean of the Batten School News The University of Virginia has appointed Ian H. Solomon to a second term as dean of the Batten School, noting his many accomplishments during his first term, including growing and diversifying student enrollment, expanding Batten’s academic offerings, recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, and strengthening the school’s overall foundation to ensure a successful future. Abigail Scholer Compassion in Action: Contemplative Science and Practice in the Classroom and the World News In March 2024, Batten School Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer joined dozens of scholars and others from around the world in Dharamsala, India, to meet with the Dalai Lama and explore ways to bring contemplative science and practice into teaching, research, policymaking and leadership in all sectors. Kirsten Gelsdorf Compassion in Action: Contemplative Science and Practice in the Classroom and the World News In March 2024, Batten School Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer joined dozens of scholars and others from around the world in Dharamsala, India, to meet with the Dalai Lama and explore ways to bring contemplative science and practice into teaching, research, policymaking and leadership in all sectors. Want To Help Save the World? This New Book Club Offers a Novel Approach News News and facts about humanitarian crises don't drive people to action, but a good fiction book might. Batten School professor Kirsten Gelsdorf and Humanitarian Collaborative practitioner fellow Adrienne Ghaly created a book club that might save the world. Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
Ian H. Solomon Ian H. Solomon is dean of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, where he leads a multidisciplinary faculty in creating new knowledge and developing leaders who can solve humanity’s greatest policy challenges. Trained as a lawyer, Solomon is a devoted student and teacher of both negotiation and conflict resolution. Read full bio
Abigail Scholer Abigail Scholer is Batten Family Bicentennial Distinguished Leadership Professor of Public Policy and professor of public policy and psychology at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Scholer studies fundamental and basic processes related to goal pursuit, decision-making, social regulation, motivated social cognition, and behavior change, with an aim for understanding how these basic processes can be leveraged to address societal challenges and improve people’s lives. Read full bio
Kirsten Gelsdorf Kirsten Gelsdorf is a professor of practice in public policy and Co-Director of the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Gelsdorf has 19 years of experience working in the humanitarian sector, most recently serving as the Chief of the Policy Analysis and Innovation section at the United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Read full bio
Compassion in Action: Contemplative Science and Practice in the Classroom and the World News In March 2024, Batten School Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer joined dozens of scholars and others from around the world in Dharamsala, India, to meet with the Dalai Lama and explore ways to bring contemplative science and practice into teaching, research, policymaking and leadership in all sectors.
UVA Reappoints Ian Solomon as Dean of the Batten School News The University of Virginia has appointed Ian H. Solomon to a second term as dean of the Batten School, noting his many accomplishments during his first term, including growing and diversifying student enrollment, expanding Batten’s academic offerings, recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, and strengthening the school’s overall foundation to ensure a successful future.
Compassion in Action: Contemplative Science and Practice in the Classroom and the World News In March 2024, Batten School Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer joined dozens of scholars and others from around the world in Dharamsala, India, to meet with the Dalai Lama and explore ways to bring contemplative science and practice into teaching, research, policymaking and leadership in all sectors.
Compassion in Action: Contemplative Science and Practice in the Classroom and the World News In March 2024, Batten School Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer joined dozens of scholars and others from around the world in Dharamsala, India, to meet with the Dalai Lama and explore ways to bring contemplative science and practice into teaching, research, policymaking and leadership in all sectors.
Want To Help Save the World? This New Book Club Offers a Novel Approach News News and facts about humanitarian crises don't drive people to action, but a good fiction book might. Batten School professor Kirsten Gelsdorf and Humanitarian Collaborative practitioner fellow Adrienne Ghaly created a book club that might save the world.