Smith & Hampshire colleges prepare for visit by the Dalai Lama

Smith College, Hampshire College and the Tibetan Association of Western Massachusetts will welcome the 14th Dalai Lama to the Pioneer Valley on Wednesday, May 9, 2007. This momentous visit by the leader of the Tibetan people and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize recognizes the colleges’ thriving exchange program with exiled Tibetan scholars in India. Years ago, Hampshire began the Five College Tibetan Studies in India Program, and since then the Dalai Lama has followed its growth as Smith collaborated with Hampshire to sustain the annual academic exchange.

Smith President Carol T. Christ and Hampshire President Ralph J. Hexter will host the daylong visit, during which His Holiness the Dalai Lama is expected to deliver a talk to thousands of students, faculty, staff and invited guests from the two colleges and the Tibetan community. That talk will take place at Smith’s Indoor Track and Tennis facility (ITT). Although the audience will be restricted to members of the two college communities, the event will be broadcast live on local television and accessible to anyone in the Pioneer Valley.

During the visit, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will also address an audience of invited members of the area’s strong Tibetan community.

Further information about the visit >>