Tibetan Leaders Meet with Deans of America’s Best Colleges and Universities

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking to a gathering of Deans from schools and universities in Boston, MA, USA.

BOSTON: The Central Tibetan Administration has placed a special emphasis on recruiting and supporting more Tibetan students to top universities and graduate schools, in hopes of increasing the number of experts of Tibetan origin across many academic and professional fields.

As part of this effort, on 14 October at MIT, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, and Education Secretary Ngodup Tsering met with the Deans and Admissions Officers from 30+ top American universities and schools.  The group included admissions representatives from top universities in the USA including from Ivy league (Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Princeton, and Yale).  An additional 20 highly selective universities will review top Tibetan students for potential admission to university.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama spoke about his philosophy of education, as well as the vital importance of Tibetan students becoming professionals and experts in a wide range of fields.  The Deans also had a chance to ask His Holiness questions and engage in a dialogue on wide-ranging topics.  The meeting with His Holiness had a powerful impact on the Deans, many of whom later reached out personally to Secretary of Education Ngodup Tsering to make a connection with the Department of Education.

The visit with His Holiness was followed by an hour-long private visit with Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, where he recounted the impact that his education at Harvard has had on his role.  After that, he engaged in a dialogue with the group.  The special collection of American Admissions Deans was especially moved by Sikyong Lobsang Sangay’s story, which underscored the potential of a top-tier education for Tibetan students, and the difference that even a single student opportunity can make.

Thomas Parker, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Amherst College, one of the top colleges in the world, called the event “one of the most important gatherings of Admissions Deans I have attended in my 32-year career in selective college admissions.”  He added, “qualified students from the Tibetan refugee community would probably receive from Amherst a financial aid package which would include not only full tuition, room, board and books, but also two round trip tickets a year to and from India. We are certainly not alone as top American college to offer this.”