Sept. 15-Oct. 20, 2008. Class: Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation, taught by Terry Furstenau. Learn the 2,500-year-old Buddhist practice of mindfulness meditation, or vipassana, to help relax, cope with stress, emotionally heal and grown spiritually.

Abdullahi An-Naim is director of the Religion and Human Rights Program of the Law and Religion Program at Emory University School of Law. An-Naim, who is from Sudan, is director of the Fellowship Program in Islam and Human Rights and is a Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory Law School. He is an internationally recognized scholar of Islam and human rights, religion and human rights, Islamic law and criminal law. Research interests include constitutionalism in Islamic and African countries, and Islam and politics. Projects include advocacy strategies for reform through internal cultural transformation.

The lecture is the second Distinguished Lecture on Religion and Public Life sponsored by the MU Department of Religious Studies and is presented by the Rufus Monroe and Sofia Hougaard Paine Lectures in Religion.

Free and open to the public.

April 20, 2009 – 7-9 p.m.
114 Physics Building
University of Missouri

Kathryn Montgomery, director of the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program and professor of Medical Humanities and Bioethics at Northwestern University, speaks on “Learning from Patients: Physicians in Literature and Life” for the annual Perez-Mesa lecture sponsored by the MU Center for Health Ethics.

Dr. Montgomery is the director of the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program and Professor of Medical Humanities, Bioethics and Medicine at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. She is a world renowned author publishing such books as “Doctors’ Stories: The Narrative Structure of Medical Knowledge,” and “How Doctors Think: Clinical Judgment and the Practice of Medicine.” Additionally, Dr. Montgomery is involved in research involving the use of literature in medical education and the epistemology of medicine.

Carlos Perez-Mesa, MD, held many appointments at the MU School of Medicine, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, and the Cancer Research center of Columbia. He was a respected cancer researcher, clinician, and teacher. He also was a loving husband and father who was passionate about the arts and humanities.

An endowed Carlos Perez-Mesa, MD, Lectureship in Medical Humanities has been established at MU in his honor to further discussions that focus on the art and ethics of medicine.

Reception follows.

April 30, 2009 – 7 p.m.
Reynolds Alumni Center
University of Missouri

For more information, see http://ethics.missouri.edu/Events.aspx

Conference: “Teaching Religion & Media: Best Practices and Models for the 21st Century,” pre-conference to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual convention. Models for innovative course designs, strategies for incorporating new media, resources for students, discussion of ethical quandaries, research about teaching religion and media, tips for approaching religion as diversity, syllabi to swap, and a networking reception. Sponsored by the Center on Religion & the Professions, the Missouri School of Journalism and the Council of Affiliates.

Lecture: “Four Pillars of Success: The Foundation to Academic Excellence,” by Dr. Aaron Thompson, professor of sociology at Eastern Kentucky University and nationally recognized authority on cultural diversity. Thompson talks about the gaps academic institutions need to fill to increase the likelihood of success for those who may have been denied equal educational opportunities. Sponsored by Chancellor’s Diversity Initiative, Maps in Medicine Science Education Program, School of Nursing, School of Medicine, Division of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, College of Human Environmental Sciences, and College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources.

“Evolutionary Thought in Emerging Fields,” 5^th annual MU Life Sciences & Society Symposium explores evolutionary research 200 years after Darwin’s birth and 150 years after publication of “On the Origin of Species.” Seven featured speakers, including Ron Numbers, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of history of science and medicine and of religious studies, speaking on “Creation, Evolution, and the Boundaries of Science and Religion.” Includes meals, reception. Open to the public. Free registration.

• See the schedule

March 13, 2009 – 4-7 p.m.
March 14, 2009 – 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
March 15, 2009 – 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Bond Life Sciences Center
University of Missouri

Celebration: Columbia Values Diversity Celebration

Register now for the 16th Annual Columbia Values Diversity Celebration, scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009 from 7 – 8:45 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Select Expo Center. Preregistration is required and the deadline is 5 p.m., Jan. 9, 2009.

The cost is $13 per person and $11 for children under 12. Scholarships are available upon request. Please call the Office of Community Services at 874-7488 (V) or 874-7356 (TTY) for registration information. Registration forms are also available on the City of Columbia’s web site at: http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/CommunityServices/Programs/CVDC/cvdc_registration.php

The theme of this year’s celebration is, “Columbia Values Diversity: This We Believe”. A breakfast and live music will be followed by the presentation of the 12th annual Columbia Values Diversity Awards. The highlight of the event will be an original artistic program honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The celebration is designed to be accessible to all. Please call 874-7488 (V) or 874-7356 (TTY) for more information or accommodations related to disability.