The 2023 Arthur Zajonc Lecture on Contemplative Education

The sixth and final Arthur Zajonc Lecture on Contemplative Education will take place on Saturday, June 17, 2023, in the Campus Center of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Given by educator Katja Hahn D’Errico, former adjunct faculty in the UMass Amherst College of Education’s social justice program, the lecture is part of a day-long program celebrating the impacts and accomplishments of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (CMIND). The event is open to the public. Registration is $50 and includes coffee, lunch, and a reception at the end of the day. A student rate or rate for whom the cost is a barrier is also available. For more information and to register, visit https://umass.irisregistration.com/Site/CMIND. 

An influential global community of contemplative practitioners fostering the development of racial, social, economic, and environmental justice and the advancement of human flourishing, CMIND focused on bringing contemplative practices and awareness to higher education. The Arthur Zajonc Lecture Series honors the pioneering physicist and educator in the field of contemplative pedagogy. When CMIND sunsetted last fall, its records went to the Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center (SCUA), in the UMass Amherst Libraries, who are helping organize the event.

The program features leaders from CMIND and the UMass Amherst Libraries, former Arthur Zajonc Lecture Awardees, and others carrying on the work of CMIND. It honors Arthur Zajonc and his groundbreaking work in contemplative pedagogy, epistemology, and learning. Throughout the day there will be opportunities to come together in contemplation and conversation with inspirational activities and practices. 

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About the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (CMIND) 

The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society was founded in the mid-1990s with programs in areas including youth leadership, journalism, environmental activism, law, and—its largest program—education. From 2008, CMIND’s work focused on contemplative practices in colleges and universities, exploring how contemplative practices can support personal, institutional, and systemic change in higher education. Based in Florence, Mass., CMIND offered many resources designed to serve faculty, staff, students, and administration; held retreats, webinars, and workshops; and connected individuals and organizations through the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education. CMIND ceased its operations in September 2022.  

About Arthur Zajonc and the Arthur Zajonc Lecture Series 

Arthur Zajonc is the former director of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, former president of the Mind & Life Institute, and an emeritus professor of physics at Amherst College. His research includes the experimental foundations of quantum physics, and the relationship between science, the humanities, and contemplative traditions. As director of CMIND, Zajonc fostered the use of contemplative practice in college and university classrooms and developed the foundations for contemplative pedagogy. His books include The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal (with Parker Palmer) and Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry: When Knowing Becomes Love.  

The Arthur Zajonc Lecture Series on Contemplative Education, presenting lectures on contemplative pedagogy, epistemology, and learning, honors Arthur Zajonc’s groundbreaking work in the field as a distinguished thought leader and committed teacher by enabling eminent scholars and educators to share their insights and experience in integrating contemplative practices and perspectives into higher education across the disciplines. The series continues Arthur’s work in building the education needed for a society based on compassion, inclusion, care for each other and the earth, and respect for the interconnection of all life.  

Katja Hahn D’errico, former adjunct faculty in the UMass Amherst College of Education’s social justice program was also director of the IMPACT service-learning Residential Academic Program at Commonwealth Honors College, where she worked to refine the integration of contemplative practice and social justice theory in her curriculum for a community service program. She retired from UMass Amherst in 2022.  

About SCUA 

The Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center (SCUA) collects materials of enduring historical and cultural value relating to four major thematic areas: the history and experience of social change in America, including collections documenting intersections of spirituality and social change; the histories and cultures of New England with an emphasis on Massachusetts; innovation and entrepreneurship; and the broad community associated with the University of Massachusetts Amherst. SCUA’s collections are highly integrated and span all formats, including personal papers and organizational records, books and periodicals, maps, photographs, audio and video recordings, and digital materials of all kinds. The department is located on the 25th floor of the W. E. B. Du Bois Library and is open to the public.