San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132
Telephone: (415) 338-2380
Website: sfsu.edu
Description of Organization
San Francisco State University for is committed to the promotion of social justice and access to quality higher education for many socially and economically disadvantaged students. Princeton Review recognized SFSU as one of its “Colleges with a Conscience” — institutions of higher learning that possess both “an administration committed to social responsibility and a student body actively engaged in serving society.”
In January 2015, Professor Ronald Purser (Department of Management) and Professor Adam Burke (Institute for Holistic Health Studies) founded the Contemplative Studies Initiative (CSI).
Grant(s) Awarded
In 2018, a grant in the amount of $6,000 was awarded to support the workshop program, “Socially Engaged Mindfulness Interventions and the Promise of Making Refuge” seminar.
In 2017, a grant in the amount of $10,000 was awarded for the creation of a workshop program, “Socially Engaged Mindfulness Interventions”. The objective was to develop and disseminate socially engaged and ecological-oriented approaches to mindfulness. The workshops involved leading Buddhist teachers and practitioners forging an interdisciplinary dialogue with scholars from the humanities and social sciences as well as community educators and activists. The multi-year program convened two summer workshops with the aim of developing a Socially Engaged Mindfulness Intervention curriculum. These activities were a continuation of SFSU’s Contemplative Studies Initiative, “Mindfulness and Compassion: The Art and Science of Contemplative Practice” conference in 2015.
In 2015, a grant in the amount of $2,000 was awarded to support the “Mindfulness and Compassion: The Art and Science of Contemplative Practice” conference, the inaugural event of SFSU’s newly founded Contemplative Studies Initiative. The conference took place June 3-6, 2015, and brought together internationally recognized researchers engaged in the scientific study of mindfulness and compassion meditation with seasoned Buddhist teachers and scholars to explore the frontiers of contemplative practice. The conference provided a forum for exploring more nuanced views on the scientific clinical research on mindfulness and compassion, the advancement of the cross-cultural dialogue between scientists and contemplatives, and the expansion of this dialogue to include the humanities and human sciences.