Rev. Danny Fisher

UVA Tibet Center co-directors Tashi Rabgey (left) and David Germano (right) with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s Special Envoy Lodi Gyari (center). Photo by Jane Haley for UVA Today.
The University of Virginia today announced the launch of the UVA Tibet Center. The press release reads in part:

The University of Virginia formally launched its Tibet Center at a luncheon Jan. 30. The new center consolidates, integrates and significantly expands the University’s world-renowned Tibet-related resources and programs.

The establishment of the Tibet Center represents the latest evolution in more than four decades of Tibetan studies at U.Va., a history that has been marked by “seemingly magical transformations,” explained Tibet Center co-director David Germano, translating a phrase from Buddhist philosophy.

In addition to promoting the traditional scholastic goals of increased knowledge about Tibet, Germano and co-director Tashi Rabgey said they hope it can become an innovative model for how study, research and engagement can provide a neutral forum for constructive analysis and action on the pressing issues confronting Tibet, from bilingual education challenges to tourism’s toll on the environment.

The press release also offers a pithy history of UVA’s invaluable contributions to the study of Tibetan Buddhism in North America.

Since the 1960s, the University of Virginia has been a preeminent institution of advanced study and learning on Tibetan Buddhism, including housing one of North America’s premier collections of Tibetan literature.

Starting in the 1970s, emeritus professor of religious studies Jeffrey Hopkins, who served as the Dalai Lama’s translator from 1979 to 1989, built the largest and most famous Tibetan Buddhist Studies program in North America. One of the field’s most respected scholars and the author of 39 books, Hopkins organized the Nobel Peace Laureates Conference that brought the Dalai Lama and other dignitaries to the University in 1998.

Beginning in the late 1990s, Germano worked with the University Library and U.Va.’s Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities to establish the Tibetan and Himalayan Library, a digital model of the Tibetan plateau that links a vast library of scholarship, photos, video and audio related to Tibet, contributed by scholars and community leaders in Tibet as well as researchers and academics from around the world.

In the process, U.Va. has become the leading American university in building engaged relationships inside Tibet, fashioning unique contracts with Tibet University and the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences, and hosting research and study programs in China for faculty and students from across North America and Europe, said Gowher Rizvi, vice provost for international affairs.

The Tibet Center has 11 affiliated faculty from a variety of disciplines, including Nicolas Sihlé (anthropology), Brantly Womack (politics), Dr. Leslie J. Blackhall (medicine) and Tsetan Chonjore (East Asian languages).

Reuters notes that 2009 will see a few “sensitive anniversaries” in China:

TIBET – The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, fled into exile 50 years ago in March after an abortive Tibetan uprising. Monks’ protests that broke out across the Tibetan region and escalated into deadly riots last year could occur again around March 10, the start of the 1959 uprising.

TIANANMEN PROTESTS – Hundreds were killed when Beijing sent the military to crush student-led pro-democracy protests in and around Tiananmen Square 20 years ago this June 4. Demonstrations could be led by families of victims or intellectuals who signed “Charter 08,” a document calling for democratic reforms issued in December.

FALUN GONG – July marks 10 years since Beijing banned the Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that draws on Buddhism, Taoism and traditional Chinese breathing exercises. Falun Gong has since accused Beijing of detaining and torturing tens of thousands of adherents, which China denies. Falun Gong supporters who have staged protests in China and abroad could plan demonstrations in Beijing.

NATIONAL DAY – Beijing will hold a major military parade to mark the 60th anniversary of Communist China’s founding on Oct 1. Dissidents could use the day to demonstrate for political reforms.