UB announces Dalai Lama's visit to campus

In the 18 years of the Distinguished Speaker Series, the UB community has seen its share of big names, and in September 2006 the Dalai Lama will top that list.

The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and Tibet's exiled head of state, has agreed to come to UB during his next visit to the United States, according to UB officials. The trip will be the Dalai Lama's first to Western New York, and although many details still need to be worked out, his visit is scheduled for Sept. 21 and 22, 2006.

"The phone has been ringing off the hook from all over the country," said Stephen Dunnett, Vice Provost for International Education. "We're pretty overjoyed."

William Regan, director of the Office of Special Events, said the Dalai Lama's visit promises to be a unique one. Not only is the popular international figure planning to participate in the Distinguished Speaker Series, but he is also expected to teach students in small classroom sessions and lead an interfaith religious service on campus.

"The Dalai Lama, he believes he's a teacher, and he is," Dunnett said. "And he's especially interested in young people, and when he comes on a campus, he wants to interact with students. That's something he requested."

Having the Dalai Lama come to UB is something Dunnett's office has been pursuing for five years. Last summer, when the Dalai Lama was in Toronto, Dunnett met privately with the spiritual leader as part of a UB delegation that included a medical school professor with ties to Tibet and a Tibetan student.

"It was one of the most moving experiences of my whole life," Dunnett said. "He touches you very deeply. He's a remarkable person."

It was at that Toronto meeting that the Dalai Lama accepted UB's invitation. The visit was confirmed last month after Dunnett and Regan met with officials at Tibet's embassy in New York City.

Between the two meetings, according to Dunnett, UB was thoroughly considered and looked over by Tibetan officials. The Dalai Lama is one of the most recognizable figures worldwide, attracting tremendous crowds to his appearances.

The Dalai Lama is also considered by some to be controversial. In 1959 he fled from China after a failed uprising against the Communist government, and has not returned to Tibet since then. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Considering the crowd the Dalai Lama is sure to attract, many security measures will have to be worked out before his visit, especially since he will be on campus for more than the hours he's scheduled to speak.

Regan said UB has worked before with the security groups like the U.S. Secret Service, and has successfully handled other high-profile speakers, but "there is not a cookie cutter for this."

Regan said every possible logistic issue would be considered and taken care of to make sure the Dalai Lama's trip runs smoothly and is a successful one. UB will also contact other universities that have hosted the Dalai Lama to see what works and what doesn't, Regan added.

Among the details that need to be finalized is the format of the Dalai Lama's smaller teaching sessions and private audiences with UB students and faculty. Dunnett said the Tibetan leader would probably meet with at least one group from the Asian studies program.

"His visit for us, from the educational point of view, is to highlight our Asian studies program," Dunnett said. "His Holiness said he's never been to this part of our country and that attracted him."

Dunnett said UB's international population was one thing that made the Dalai Lama, who turns 80 this summer, highly interested in coming here. UB has about 3,400 international students, 2,000 from Asia. Five of those current students are from Tibet, according to Dunnett.

UB President John Simpson said he was pleased to hear the Dalai Lama accepted UB's invitation.

"Universities are to have a whole diversity of opinions expressed, discussed, debated," Simpson said. "And this (visit) represents a palpable and very widely watched demonstration of having a person of considerable importance in the world come and talk in our forum."

According to The Buffalo News, UB will make a donation to a scholarship fund for Tibetan students who study in America, rather than pay the Dalai Lama the usual speaker's fee.

"He just sees himself as a simple monk and as a teacher," Dunnett said. "He must have a sense of how the world sees him, of course, but he's very simple when you're with him. He's not very interested in pomp and circumstance. He wants to reach out to people."