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CLAREMONT, CA., August 24, 2012 (Press Release): Claremont Lincoln University and the Nalanda Confluence Institute (NCI) are pleased to announce a new collaboration. Today, officials from each institution signed an agreement that is an important step in establishing an accredited graduate program in Hindu Dharma studies at Claremont. NCI will join the Indic Foundation and other funders, with the goal of establishing a School of Hindu Studies at Claremont Lincoln. Future plans call for offering MA degrees in Hindu Studies, Hindu Clinical Pastoral Chaplaincy, and Hindu Theology/Philosophy. Also Concentrations in Hindu contemplative, Yogic, and Consciousness Studies, Applied Dharma, and other initiatives in Partnership with Hindu spiritual institutions and community organizations.
"At the heart of Claremont Lincoln's mission lies the ideal of building bridges of understanding for the purposes of improving and repairing our shared society, environment, and world," said Dr. Philip Clayton, Provost of Claremont Lincoln. "We are excited about this new agreement with Nalanda Confluence Institute. It reaffirms Claremont Lincoln's place as one of the most dynamic and collaborative centers for religious education in the country."
"The Nalanda Confluence Institute is equally excited about the agreement," said Dr. Rita Sherma, NCI President. "We see our relationship with Claremont Lincoln University as a wonderful opportunity to integrate the dharma-based insights and principles of the Hindu traditions with Claremont Lincoln's innovative, engagement-driven focus on the world's religions, with fidelity to their self-understanding and experience."
Established in 2011, Claremont Lincoln University is an inter-religious graduate school offering accredited degree programs, advanced certificates, and custom-designed curricula for leadership that spans multicultural, multi-religious, spiritual, and secular value systems. NCI is an international onsite and online experiential academic teaching and research institution that will affiliate with both Claremont Lincoln University and Indian institutes of higher education and research.