Maharishi University of Management
Encyclopedia
Maharishi University of Management (MUM), formerly known as Maharishi International University, is a non-profit, American university, located in Fairfield, Iowa
. It was founded in 1973 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
and features a "consciousness-based education" system that includes the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique
. Its founding principles include the development of the full potential of the individual and achieving the spiritual goals of humanity in this generation.
It is accredited through the Ph.D. level by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
and offers degree programs in business, education, communications, mathematical science, literature, physiology & health, Vedic Science and sustainable living. The university features; an academic “block system” (where students study one subject for four weeks), a multi-national student body and an organic, vegetarian meal program. The original campus was located in Goleta, California
and in 1974 moved to a 272 acre facility in Iowa where many buildings featuring the principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
architecture.
and created with the belief that a school that incorporated the Transcendental Meditation technique would create an "unusual contribution to higher education". It was inaugurated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, with Robert Keith Wallace becoming the first university president in 1973. Its first location was an apartment complex in Goleta, California
with one hundred students and thirty-five faculty members. In June 1974, the university relocated to the campus of the former Parsons College
in Fairfield, Iowa.
In 1975, the freshman and sophomore years were interdisciplinary and were organized in a modular format with each course lasting a few weeks or months. All students, regardless of their previous education were required to attend "the 24 freshman courses", some of which were recorded "by 'resident' faculty who did not set foot on campus during the course". The freshman admission requirement was a high school diploma and transfer students were "accepted regardless of academic record".
In 1976, the accreditation evaluation team from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, said the faculty were “creative in their vision for higher education and eminently qualified” and the university was granted "candidate for accreditation" status. At that time, faculty and administrators were all paid "approximately the same base salary of $275 per month", with additional compensation "on a sliding scale for those with spouses and children", plus free housing in university dormitories. On campus, drugs and alcohol were "shunned" and a "strong sense of community" pervaded the institution.
Bevan Morris was appointed president and chairman of the board of trustees in 1979.
In 1980, the university received accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission and became a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS).
1981 saw the completion of two 20,000 square foot, meditation domes or Golden Domes, that were built on the campus "for the group practice of the Transcendental Mediation and TM-Sidhi program
".
In July 1983, it was reported that many university students were asked to leave the campus when they attempted to distribute literature for meditation seminars by Robin Woodsworth Carlsen, a critic of the university leadership, during the university's graduation ceremony. As a result several students were suspended and their "super-radiance cards", needed for admission to the meditation domes, were revoked. In December 1983, Morris organized a special three-week "Taste of Utopia" gathering which attracted more than 7,000 practitioners of the TM-Sidhi program. He later reported that reduced world tensions and a higher Dow Jones stock index
occurred during, and as a result of, this event.
In 1995, Maharishi International University changed its name to Maharishi University of Management (MUM).
In order to rebuild the campus according to Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
design principles, many of the original Parsons College buildings were demolished, including four that were listed on the National Historic Register. Beginning in 2000 and continuing through 2005, the university demolished Carnegie Hall, Parsons Hall, Barhydt Chapel, Blum Stadium
(1966), Laser Tower, the dining hall, and 38 dormitory "pods". In 2000, local preservationists protested the demolition of Parsons Hall, built in 1915, and of Barhydt Chapel, designed in 1911 by Henry K. Holsman
. University officials said that MUM would donate the buildings to a community group who could raise the $1 million needed to move what the local newspaper described as an "ailing building".
The university's stabbing incident
occurred in 2001 when Shuvender Sem, a student at MUM, attacked two other students in separate instances. He stabbed the first student with a pen and hours later fatally stabbed Levi Butler with a knife. Sem was found not guilty due to insanity and the university settled a lawsuit that charged it with negligence. According to journalist Anthony Barnett, the attacks led critics to question the movement's claims that advanced meditation techniques could end violence. Maharishi said of the incident that "this is an aspect of the violence we see throughout society", including the violence that the U.S. perpetrates in other countries.
Beginning in 2005, film director David Lynch
began hosting an annual "David Lynch Weekend for World Peace and Meditation" at MUM. The 2008 event included musical performances by Donovan
, Moby
and Chrysta Bell. The 4th annual event, November 12–16, 2009 featured Donovan, MUM professor John Hagelin
, and the American debut of James McCartney
who performed on November 14, 2009 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center
in Fairfield, Iowa
. The weekend conference was intended to appeal to those "interested in creativity, film, art, sustainable living, organic agriculture
, brain development, consciousness, meditation, natural medicine, renewable living, peace".
Actor, native Iowan, and Yogic Flyer Stephen Collins
was the featured speaker at the 2010 commencement ceremony and spoke to the 234 graduating students about his views on "counter-culturalism".
, chairman of The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.
, Bevan Morris
, Chairman Emeritus of MUM, John Hagelin
, "Honorary Chairman", physicist and MUM faculty member, and Ed Malloy, mayor of Fairfield, Iowa. Former trustees include retired Major General and author Franklin M. Davis, Jr
, Theodore Dreier, an engineer and educator who was one of the founders of Black Mountain College
, and Alfred L. Jenkins, a career diplomat who served as chairman of MIU for three years but later left the movement.
In 2011, MUM was one of more than 1000 corporations which requested a waiver to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
's requirement to offer maximum payouts of no less than $750,000 per employee.
. The setting of the university has been called "urban". The original Parsons College campus included 80 buildings, several of which were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. Many of those structures, including Blum Stadium
, have been demolished in favor of new buildings using Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
principles of architecture and environmentally conscious design. As of 2007, the University has over 45 buildings on campus, including 17 main classroom and administrative buildings. A master plan for reconstruction includes attention toward environmental conservation, incorporating renewable energy and state-of-the-art building technologies.
, including "Yogic Flying". They have been called "particle accelerators of consciousness" by Maharishi.
The Dreier Building houses the offices of Admissions, Alumni, Campus Reconstruction, Development, the Dean of Faculty, the Dean of Women and Men, the Enrollment Center, the Executive Vice-President, Legal Counsel, Human Resources, and six classrooms.
A new 50000 sq ft (4,645.2 m²) Student Center that opened in 2008 houses a large, open reception area, dining rooms, kitchens, student cafe, student book store and shopping area, interdenominational chapel, an auditorium, classrooms, exercise studio, and student government offices.
The Library Building houses the main library, classrooms, administrative offices, multimedia computer lab, Unity Art Gallery, Campus Security and Facilities Management. The library catalog includes 140,000 volumes, 60 reference databases and Internet reference resources, 7,000 electronic books, 12,000 full-text periodicals, special collections including the Science of Creative Intelligence Reserve Collection, Journal of Modern Science and Vedic Science, Ph.D. dissertations by university students, and a Vedic Literature Collection. A campus-wide closed-circuit television network includes 10,000 hours of video- and audio-taped courses, conferences and presentations. Additional facilities include network plug-in ports for laptop users, support for international distance education students, and DVD/video rentals with over 1,500 titles. Inter-library loans include books and articles and access to the University of Iowa
Library as well as to libraries worldwide.
Other buildings include:
The University operates an organic vegetable farm including a 1 acres (4,046.9 m²), year-round greenhouse, which provides their students and faculty with a 100% organic food program.
In 2010, the University began construction on a Sustainable Learning Center (SLC) building using the standards of Maharishi Vedic Architecture. According to the University, the building will "set a new global standard for green buildings" by incorporating local building materials and being completely energy self-sufficient, even during construction. It is designed to meet the Living Building Challenge requirements and become one of three buildings in the US to meet that standard as well as LEED Platinum certification. The SLC will house both research and classroom activities and allow students to "interactively monitor performance and energy efficiency". University officials hope this building can prove that the county has the expertise for technological jumps of this kind.
In 2011, the University participated in the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council's, solar energy project, Sustain Angoon.
technique and the TM-Sidhi program
twice daily. Consciousness-Based education includes both personal experience and intellectual understanding of both knowledge and consciousness.
According to the student handbook, students are automatically enrolled in Development of Consciousness (DoC) classes every semester they are on campus, and must pass every DoC class to graduate. Attendance is mandatory and recorded. Falsification of the attendance record is a violation of the honor code, along with cheating and plagiarism. Development of Consciousness topics include Group TM program, Individual TM checking, TM Experience meetings for Meditators, Advanced Knowledge Meetings for Sidhas, and World Peace Assemblies for Sidhas. Many students go on to take the TM-Sidhi program, including Yogic Flying.
The TM-Sidhi course costs thousands of dollars and claims to reverse aging, give clairvoyance, and allow one to levitate. Students have not seen results. In 1986, seven former students filled a lawsuit stating that "instead of flying they only learned to hop".
All disciplines are integrated with an understanding of the theoretical aspects of human consciousness as outlined in the Science of Creative Intelligence course.
and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the oldest accrediting agency in the USA. MUM is recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The University’s business programs (B.A., MBA, and Ph.D.) are accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education
(IACBE). The University is also a charter signatory of the American College and University Climate Commitment.
Maharishi University of Management was listed as a tier 4 university in the "Best Colleges 2010" Masters Midwest Category of U.S. News & World Report College and University rankings. Tier 4 is the lowest ranking for this category.
MUM participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement
(NSSE) in 2002, 2005, and 2009. According to the 2002 NSSE survey, which obtained data from 135,000 students at 613 institutions, MUM was in the top 10% for: active and collaborative learning, supportive campus environment, enriching educational experiences and student-faculty interaction.
The results of the ACT alumni survey conducted in 2008 show a high level of alumni satisfaction.
MUM is listed in Peterson's 440 Great Colleges for Top Students 2010.
Maharishi University of Management website cites high rankings on "benchmarks of effective educational practice" from the National Survey of Student Engagement
.
In 2010, there were 1,210 students enrolled — 754 full-time and 456 part-time students, with 928 full- and part-time graduate students.
According to the MUM publication Achievements, total enrollment for 2009/2010 was 1,231, including 276 undergraduate and 955 graduate students. From this total, 516 were at the Fairfield, Iowa campus and the rest were enrolled in distance education or in MUM's partner institution in China. These students hailed from 75 countries including Brunei
and Liberia
. The median age of new undergraduate students was 21, with an increase in the percentage of new students in the 17–19 age range.
According to U.S. News and World Reports "Best Colleges 2010" report, MUM's application deadline is "rolling" and its fall admissions selectivity is "less selective".
financial aid programs.
International students may be eligible for financial aid. Packages are available through the financial aid office that vary by program.
The University participates in a state sponsored, fast-track license program for school teachers. The University offers a sustainable living program, the first of its kind in the nation. The program includes a B.S in Sustainable Living and an M.B.A. in Sustainable Business. MUM also offers a B.A. in Communications and Media with options for video and audio production, graphic and web design, and professional creative writing. Students and recent graduates have won awards for their work at the Iowa Motion Pictures Association Awards, the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, and the Webby Awards.
Maharishi University of Management has a program known as the "Rotating University", in which students can take courses of study abroad, usually of 4–6 weeks duration, in the one-course-at-a-time format. MUM also offers undergraduate programs in China.
Undergraduate
Bachelor
Minor
Graduate
Master
Ph.D.
postures called asana
s, personalized fitness programs, and self-pulse health assessment techniques. Students are required to participate in physical activity every day. A variety of recreation, exercise classes and sports are offered to meet most schedules. A recreation center and an outdoor swimming pool are open to students at no charge. MUM prohibits the use of non-prescribed drugs, alcoholic beverages, and smoking on its campus.
The university also offers an all-vegetarian, organic
menu made from fresh ingredients rather than frozen or processed foods. Organic, whole-grain breads and pastries are produced in university kitchens, while a local, organic dairy farm supplies milk, yogurt and ice cream. University organic farms and greenhouses supply the produce, and are cooked within a day of picking. A buffet-style dining room includes outdoor dining when weather permits.
Seven new "home-style" residence halls opened in early 2005, each with eight private bedrooms and baths plus a central kitchen and living room area. The new residence halls were built according to the ancient principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
architecture. Geothermal technology is used to conserve energy, and natural materials were used whenever possible.
The University is now designing its first "green" residence hall - a fully nontoxic building with earth-friendly energy and water systems.
A 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) indoor facility is equipped with a weight room, gymnastic equipment, basketball courts, volleyball courts, tennis courts, ping-pong tables, track, and a 28 feet (9 m) rock-climbing wall. Outside are 10 tennis courts, a soccer field and a swimming pool with an adjoining sand volleyball court. The swimming pool is open form June to mid-September, and there is an indoor pool in Fairfield (owned by Fairfield Parks & Recreation) available throughout the year. There is also a soccer stadium, the home field of the University soccer team.
Within a five-minute walk is a small two-lake reservoir, suitable for flat water kayaking, canoeing and windsurfing. A 17 miles (27 km) walking and cycling trail surrounds the lakes. Bicycles, canoes, and cross-country skis are available for student use through the Recreation Center. The Department of Exercise and Sport Science offers three-day adventure trips (on weekends between courses) that are professionally supervised. These can include alpine skiing, rock climbing, white-water kayaking on the Wolf River
in Wisconsin
, horseback riding, and canoe trips.
The Global Student Council hosts events throughout the year, and the Student Activities department supports and helps staff these events. Cultural festivals are organized by students from different nations and may include food fests with music and costume. Annual Eco Fairs include presentations and panel discussions with experts in renewable energy and sustainable living, sustainable agriculture, green building processes and methods, and renewable water filtration systems for home or business, plus a fashion show using only organic or recycled materials. Talent variety shows, open mike evenings, games night at the Cosmic Café, and national-day celebrations honoring the over 50 nations represented on campus occur during the year. The Student Union Theater hosts films and live performances, while a large downstairs ballroom is the site for everything from Latin dance classes to fashion shows. The library has over 1,500 DVD/video for rent.
's journals: Hypertension
and Stroke
.
Since the establishment of its research facilities, the university has been awarded over 150 federal, state, and private grants and contracts totaling over $24 million, including funding from the NIH's Cancer Institute, the NIH Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Science Foundation
, the National Endowment for the Humanities
, and the U.S. Department of Education. A university website says that research grants have been awarded in the fields of physics
, molecular biology
, physiology
, and preventive medicine.
College of Medicine in Iowa City, Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta
, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
in Los Angeles
. The Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention trains future researchers that includes graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and physicians, in the area of natural approaches to medicine.
In the past decade, Institute director Robert Schneider and national collaborators have received grants totaling over $10.5 million for research on prevention-oriented natural medicine. The university has received more than $20 million in funding from different branches of the National Institutes of Health
. The university's Department of Physiology and the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention received $8 million from the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) to establish the first research center in the U.S. specializing in natural preventive medicine for minorities.
In 2002, the Gazette (Cedar Rapids and Iowa City) reported that, despite the fact that major medical schools might have in the past "turned up their noses" at studies MUM was conducting, millions of dollars had been awarded by the National Institutes of Health
, and major universities, including the University of Iowa
; University of California, Irvine
; and University of Hawaii
, were conducting research on alternative medicine and therapies with MUM. Maharishi University and the University of Iowa, the article reported, were working on a study that looked at whether holistic therapy can effect the slowing or progression of heart disease.
According to religious scholar Lola Williamson, former MUM professors have criticized the research conducted at MUM and the uses to which that research is put, including to obtain tax exempt status, as fraudulent. Former MUM professor of economics and business law, Anthony DeNaro, stated in 1986 that there is "a very serious and deliberate pattern of fraud...designed to misrepresent the TM movement as a science". Williamson also says that Dennis Roark, former Dean of Faculty and chair of the physics department in the 1970s, stated in a 1987 letter that he believed negative data was routinely suppressed in MUM research, and that scientific claims as to both the beneficial effects of TM and physics "are not only without reasonable basis, but are in fact in many ways fraudulent." Roark stated that he had questioned MUM professor Michael Dilbeck regarding his studies of brain wave coherence using EEG measurements during practice of the TM-Sidhi program, and that Dilbeck admitted that it was impossible to make EEG measurements while the subjects were moving. Williamson says that Roark also wrote that when he was on faculty in the 1970s he questioned other investigators regarding studies of alleged crime reduction as a result of the Maharishi Effect, and they admitted to suppressing negative data and using only data that supported favorable conclusions.
, the accrediting body for Midwest schools, as saying that North Central has found the university and its facilities and faculty to be "appropriate". The article says that John Patterson, a professor at Iowa State University
, questions the accreditation itself, saying it lends credibility to what he describes as "these crackpots".
In 1992, reporter Michael D’Antonio wrote in his book, Heaven on Earth – Dispatches from America’s Spiritual Frontier, that, as practiced at MUM, Transcendental Meditation is "a cult rather than a culture". D'Antonio wrote that Transcendental Meditation was like the worst of religion: rigid, unreasonable, repressive, and authoritarian, characterized by overt manipulation, a disregard for serious scholarship, and an unwillingness to question authority. For the first time in his travels he found people he believed to be truly deluded, and a physics department teaching theories that were dead wrong. D’Antonio charges that they have taken Transcendental Meditiation "into a grandiose narcissistic dream, a form of intellectual bondage, that they call enlightment".
recorded their 1979 album M.I.U. Album
on the campus, and named it after the university.
Man on the Moon, a biopic of entertainer Andy Kaufman
, includes a scene at Maharishi International University in which Kaufman is asked to leave a retreat because his behavior was unbecoming an enlightened individual.
For the 2007-2008 academic year, average salaries for MUM full time faculty were as follows, followed by the national averages for that year:
Notable past and present faculty at MUM include David Orme-Johnson
, John Hagelin
, Ashley Deans
, and Elaine Ingham
.
who attended for one year, Ron Parker
, a Canadian who ran on the Natural Law Party
ticket and received his PhD in physics from MUM, filmmaker Shrikar Madiraju
, and writer Peter McWilliams
. Author John Gray
has been called an alumnus of MIU, but other sources list him as an alumnus of Maharishi European Research University (MERU) in Switzerland. Other alumni include Chris Hartnett, CEO of USA Global Link, who received his BA from MUM, Michael C. Dimick, a Natural Law Party candidate who received his MBA degree, and Jennie Rothenberg-Gritz who is the senior editor for TheAtlantic.com A son of Joaquim Chissano
, then President of Mozambique, and several children of his cabinet members received scholarships to Maharishi International University in the mid-1990s.
Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield is a city and the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,464 in the 2010 census, a decline from 9,509 in the 2000 census. - History :...
. It was founded in 1973 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , born Mahesh Prasad Varma , developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterised as a new religious movement and also as non-religious...
and features a "consciousness-based education" system that includes the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique
Transcendental Meditation technique
The Transcendental Meditation technique is a specific form of mantra meditation often referred to as Transcendental Meditation. It was introduced in India in 1955 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi...
. Its founding principles include the development of the full potential of the individual and achieving the spiritual goals of humanity in this generation.
It is accredited through the Ph.D. level by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
and offers degree programs in business, education, communications, mathematical science, literature, physiology & health, Vedic Science and sustainable living. The university features; an academic “block system” (where students study one subject for four weeks), a multi-national student body and an organic, vegetarian meal program. The original campus was located in Goleta, California
Goleta, California
Goleta is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, USA. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated, populated area in the county. As of the 2000 census, the Census-designated place had a total population of 55,204, however, a significant...
and in 1974 moved to a 272 acre facility in Iowa where many buildings featuring the principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
Maharishi Sthapatya Veda is a set of architectural and planning principles assembled by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi based on "ancient Sanskrit texts" Maharishi Sthapatya Veda architecture is also called "Maharishi Vastu" architecture, "Fortune-Creating" buildings and homes, and "Maharishi Vedic...
architecture.
History
The university was conceived by Transcendental Meditation teachers, established in 1971 by Nat GoldhaberNat Goldhaber
A. Nathaniel Goldhaber is an American venture capitalist, computer entrepreneur and politician. He was the 2000 U.S. Vice President candidate for the Natural Law Party.-Education:...
and created with the belief that a school that incorporated the Transcendental Meditation technique would create an "unusual contribution to higher education". It was inaugurated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, with Robert Keith Wallace becoming the first university president in 1973. Its first location was an apartment complex in Goleta, California
Goleta, California
Goleta is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, USA. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated, populated area in the county. As of the 2000 census, the Census-designated place had a total population of 55,204, however, a significant...
with one hundred students and thirty-five faculty members. In June 1974, the university relocated to the campus of the former Parsons College
Parsons College
Parsons College was a private liberal arts college in Fairfield, Iowa. The school, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, was founded in 1875 and closed in 1973....
in Fairfield, Iowa.
In 1975, the freshman and sophomore years were interdisciplinary and were organized in a modular format with each course lasting a few weeks or months. All students, regardless of their previous education were required to attend "the 24 freshman courses", some of which were recorded "by 'resident' faculty who did not set foot on campus during the course". The freshman admission requirement was a high school diploma and transfer students were "accepted regardless of academic record".
In 1976, the accreditation evaluation team from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, said the faculty were “creative in their vision for higher education and eminently qualified” and the university was granted "candidate for accreditation" status. At that time, faculty and administrators were all paid "approximately the same base salary of $275 per month", with additional compensation "on a sliding scale for those with spouses and children", plus free housing in university dormitories. On campus, drugs and alcohol were "shunned" and a "strong sense of community" pervaded the institution.
Bevan Morris was appointed president and chairman of the board of trustees in 1979.
In 1980, the university received accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission and became a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS).
1981 saw the completion of two 20,000 square foot, meditation domes or Golden Domes, that were built on the campus "for the group practice of the Transcendental Mediation and TM-Sidhi program
TM-Sidhi program
The TM-Sidhi program is a form of meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1975. It is based on, and described as a natural extension of the Transcendental Meditation technique...
".
In July 1983, it was reported that many university students were asked to leave the campus when they attempted to distribute literature for meditation seminars by Robin Woodsworth Carlsen, a critic of the university leadership, during the university's graduation ceremony. As a result several students were suspended and their "super-radiance cards", needed for admission to the meditation domes, were revoked. In December 1983, Morris organized a special three-week "Taste of Utopia" gathering which attracted more than 7,000 practitioners of the TM-Sidhi program. He later reported that reduced world tensions and a higher Dow Jones stock index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
occurred during, and as a result of, this event.
In 1995, Maharishi International University changed its name to Maharishi University of Management (MUM).
In order to rebuild the campus according to Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
Maharishi Sthapatya Veda is a set of architectural and planning principles assembled by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi based on "ancient Sanskrit texts" Maharishi Sthapatya Veda architecture is also called "Maharishi Vastu" architecture, "Fortune-Creating" buildings and homes, and "Maharishi Vedic...
design principles, many of the original Parsons College buildings were demolished, including four that were listed on the National Historic Register. Beginning in 2000 and continuing through 2005, the university demolished Carnegie Hall, Parsons Hall, Barhydt Chapel, Blum Stadium
Blum Stadium
Blum Stadium was the home of Parsons College Wildcats football from 1966 through their final season in 1970. The dedication game was a 37-7 victory over Los Angeles State on October 8, 1966. The final game was a 10-8 victory over Wayne State on October 24, 1970...
(1966), Laser Tower, the dining hall, and 38 dormitory "pods". In 2000, local preservationists protested the demolition of Parsons Hall, built in 1915, and of Barhydt Chapel, designed in 1911 by Henry K. Holsman
Henry K. Holsman
Henry K. Holsman was an American architect and car manufacturer from Chicago, Illinois.-See also:*Holsman Automobile Company...
. University officials said that MUM would donate the buildings to a community group who could raise the $1 million needed to move what the local newspaper described as an "ailing building".
The university's stabbing incident
Maharishi University of Management stabbing
The Maharishi University of Management stabbing occurred on March 1, 2004, when without provocation, a university student Shuvender Sem fatally stabbed a fellow student, Levi Butler, after Sem had attacked another student earlier in the day...
occurred in 2001 when Shuvender Sem, a student at MUM, attacked two other students in separate instances. He stabbed the first student with a pen and hours later fatally stabbed Levi Butler with a knife. Sem was found not guilty due to insanity and the university settled a lawsuit that charged it with negligence. According to journalist Anthony Barnett, the attacks led critics to question the movement's claims that advanced meditation techniques could end violence. Maharishi said of the incident that "this is an aspect of the violence we see throughout society", including the violence that the U.S. perpetrates in other countries.
Beginning in 2005, film director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
began hosting an annual "David Lynch Weekend for World Peace and Meditation" at MUM. The 2008 event included musical performances by Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
and Chrysta Bell. The 4th annual event, November 12–16, 2009 featured Donovan, MUM professor John Hagelin
John Hagelin
John Samuel Hagelin is an American particle physicist, three-time candidate of the Natural Law Party for President of the United States , and the director of the Transcendental Meditation movement for the US....
, and the American debut of James McCartney
James McCartney
James Louis McCartney is a British musician and songwriter living in London. He is the only son of songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney...
who performed on November 14, 2009 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center
Fairfield Arts & Convention Center
The Fairfield Arts & Convention Center is a performing arts, convention and meeting, visual arts, and arts education facility, located at Briggs and Main Streets in downtown Fairfield, Iowa...
in Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield is a city and the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,464 in the 2010 census, a decline from 9,509 in the 2000 census. - History :...
. The weekend conference was intended to appeal to those "interested in creativity, film, art, sustainable living, organic agriculture
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
, brain development, consciousness, meditation, natural medicine, renewable living, peace".
Actor, native Iowan, and Yogic Flyer Stephen Collins
Stephen Collins
Stephen Weaver Collins is an American actor, writer, and singer. He is perhaps best known for playing the role of Eric Camden on the long running television series 7th Heaven and more recently as Dr. Dayton King on the ABC TV series No Ordinary Family.-Early life:Collins was born in Des Moines,...
was the featured speaker at the 2010 commencement ceremony and spoke to the 234 graduating students about his views on "counter-culturalism".
Administration
The Board of Trustees consists of more than 30 members and is chaired by Jeffrey Abramson, a partner in The Tower Companies. Other members include Ramani AyerRamani Ayer
Ramani Ayer is an American-Indian business executive, and the former the CEO and chairman of The Hartford.-Education:Ayer earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 1969 and his master's and doctorate from Drexel University in...
, chairman of The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.
The Hartford
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. , usually known as The Hartford, is a Fortune 500 company and one of America’s largest investment and insurance companies...
, Bevan Morris
Bevan Morris
Bevan G. Morris is the president of Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, President of the Global Country of World Peace, President of Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, Prime Minister of the United States Peace Government, President of the Maharishi World Peace...
, Chairman Emeritus of MUM, John Hagelin
John Hagelin
John Samuel Hagelin is an American particle physicist, three-time candidate of the Natural Law Party for President of the United States , and the director of the Transcendental Meditation movement for the US....
, "Honorary Chairman", physicist and MUM faculty member, and Ed Malloy, mayor of Fairfield, Iowa. Former trustees include retired Major General and author Franklin M. Davis, Jr
Franklin M. Davis, Jr
Franklin Milton Davis, Jr. was an author and Major General in the United States Army.-Education:General Davis had a B.A. in Economics/English from the University of Massachusetts and a M.A...
, Theodore Dreier, an engineer and educator who was one of the founders of Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College, a school founded in 1933 in Black Mountain, North Carolina, was a new kind of college in the United States in which the study of art was seen to be central to a liberal arts education, and in which John Dewey's principles of education played a major role...
, and Alfred L. Jenkins, a career diplomat who served as chairman of MIU for three years but later left the movement.
In 2011, MUM was one of more than 1000 corporations which requested a waiver to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
's requirement to offer maximum payouts of no less than $750,000 per employee.
Founding principles
The founding principles of the university are:- To develop the full potential of the individual
- To realize the highest ideal of education
- To improve governmental achievements
- To solve the age-old problem of crime and all behavior that brings unhappiness to our world family
- To bring fulfillment to the economic aspirations of individuals and society
- To maximize the intelligent use of the environment
- To achieve the spiritual goals of humanity in this generation.
Campus
Maharishi University of Management has 272 acres (1.1 km²) surrounded by wooded areas, fields, and two small lakes, and is located 50 miles (80.5 km) west of the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The setting of the university has been called "urban". The original Parsons College campus included 80 buildings, several of which were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Many of those structures, including Blum Stadium
Blum Stadium
Blum Stadium was the home of Parsons College Wildcats football from 1966 through their final season in 1970. The dedication game was a 37-7 victory over Los Angeles State on October 8, 1966. The final game was a 10-8 victory over Wayne State on October 24, 1970...
, have been demolished in favor of new buildings using Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
Maharishi Sthapatya Veda is a set of architectural and planning principles assembled by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi based on "ancient Sanskrit texts" Maharishi Sthapatya Veda architecture is also called "Maharishi Vastu" architecture, "Fortune-Creating" buildings and homes, and "Maharishi Vedic...
principles of architecture and environmentally conscious design. As of 2007, the University has over 45 buildings on campus, including 17 main classroom and administrative buildings. A master plan for reconstruction includes attention toward environmental conservation, incorporating renewable energy and state-of-the-art building technologies.
Buildings
The Maharishi Patanjali Golden Dome of Pure Knowledge (for men) and the Bagambhrini Golden Dome (for women) are used for daily group practice of the TM-Sidhi programTM-Sidhi program
The TM-Sidhi program is a form of meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1975. It is based on, and described as a natural extension of the Transcendental Meditation technique...
, including "Yogic Flying". They have been called "particle accelerators of consciousness" by Maharishi.
The Dreier Building houses the offices of Admissions, Alumni, Campus Reconstruction, Development, the Dean of Faculty, the Dean of Women and Men, the Enrollment Center, the Executive Vice-President, Legal Counsel, Human Resources, and six classrooms.
A new 50000 sq ft (4,645.2 m²) Student Center that opened in 2008 houses a large, open reception area, dining rooms, kitchens, student cafe, student book store and shopping area, interdenominational chapel, an auditorium, classrooms, exercise studio, and student government offices.
The Library Building houses the main library, classrooms, administrative offices, multimedia computer lab, Unity Art Gallery, Campus Security and Facilities Management. The library catalog includes 140,000 volumes, 60 reference databases and Internet reference resources, 7,000 electronic books, 12,000 full-text periodicals, special collections including the Science of Creative Intelligence Reserve Collection, Journal of Modern Science and Vedic Science, Ph.D. dissertations by university students, and a Vedic Literature Collection. A campus-wide closed-circuit television network includes 10,000 hours of video- and audio-taped courses, conferences and presentations. Additional facilities include network plug-in ports for laptop users, support for international distance education students, and DVD/video rentals with over 1,500 titles. Inter-library loans include books and articles and access to the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
Library as well as to libraries worldwide.
Other buildings include:
- Maharishi School of the Age of EnlightenmentMaharishi School of the Age of EnlightenmentMaharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment is an independent, non-denominational, college preparatory school located in Fairfield, Iowa, USA.The school was founded in 1974, received state accreditation in 1986 and began single-gender classes in 1989...
, a K-12 school which has a separate digital media center and greenhouse; - The McLaughlin Building, home to the Computer Science and Mathematics departments;
- The Maharishi Veda Bhavan Building, which houses the Education Department, Maharishi Vedic Science Department, and the Center for Educational Excellence;
- Henn Mansion, a restored 1857 building, housing the Resource Development Office, Literature and Writing department, Public Affairs, and International Student Advisor Office;
- Gate Ridge Court Building houses the Department for the Development of Consciousness, the Management Department, accounting, and a number of classrooms;
- A fieldhouse;
- The Maharishi Tower of Invincibility;
- 14 former fraternity houses, now used as residence halls;
- Six new Maharishi Sthapatya VedaMaharishi Sthapatya VedaMaharishi Sthapatya Veda is a set of architectural and planning principles assembled by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi based on "ancient Sanskrit texts" Maharishi Sthapatya Veda architecture is also called "Maharishi Vastu" architecture, "Fortune-Creating" buildings and homes, and "Maharishi Vedic...
residence halls; - Five high-rise residence halls;
- Hildenbrand Residence Hall;
- Utopia Park, a 200-unit trailer park;
- Faculty and staff apartments and homes;
- Verrill Hall, which houses communications, custodial services, housing, mail room, the Press, Press Marketing, KHOEKHOEKHOE is the college radio station of Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa.-Description:The station is described as a "a nonprofit, noncommercial, educational radio station". The station broadcasts a variety, "world radio" format...
90.5 FM radio station, and video studios; - An 80000 square feet (7,432.2 m²) Recreation Center.
- Sustainable Living Center (under construction)
Sustainability
MUM is establishing itself as a leader in sustainable architecture among Iowa colleges and universities. The University's efforts to create a sustainable campus includes the use of green, energy-efficient architecture and community planning that incorporates Maharishi Sthapatya Veda architecture - a system of country, town, village, and home planning. Over 40 old buildings have been demolished and over a dozen new buildings have been erected according to these design principles.The University operates an organic vegetable farm including a 1 acres (4,046.9 m²), year-round greenhouse, which provides their students and faculty with a 100% organic food program.
In 2010, the University began construction on a Sustainable Learning Center (SLC) building using the standards of Maharishi Vedic Architecture. According to the University, the building will "set a new global standard for green buildings" by incorporating local building materials and being completely energy self-sufficient, even during construction. It is designed to meet the Living Building Challenge requirements and become one of three buildings in the US to meet that standard as well as LEED Platinum certification. The SLC will house both research and classroom activities and allow students to "interactively monitor performance and energy efficiency". University officials hope this building can prove that the county has the expertise for technological jumps of this kind.
In 2011, the University participated in the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council's, solar energy project, Sustain Angoon.
Development of consciousness
As a component of Consciousness-Based education, students and faculty practice the Transcendental MeditationTranscendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
technique and the TM-Sidhi program
TM-Sidhi program
The TM-Sidhi program is a form of meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1975. It is based on, and described as a natural extension of the Transcendental Meditation technique...
twice daily. Consciousness-Based education includes both personal experience and intellectual understanding of both knowledge and consciousness.
According to the student handbook, students are automatically enrolled in Development of Consciousness (DoC) classes every semester they are on campus, and must pass every DoC class to graduate. Attendance is mandatory and recorded. Falsification of the attendance record is a violation of the honor code, along with cheating and plagiarism. Development of Consciousness topics include Group TM program, Individual TM checking, TM Experience meetings for Meditators, Advanced Knowledge Meetings for Sidhas, and World Peace Assemblies for Sidhas. Many students go on to take the TM-Sidhi program, including Yogic Flying.
The TM-Sidhi course costs thousands of dollars and claims to reverse aging, give clairvoyance, and allow one to levitate. Students have not seen results. In 1986, seven former students filled a lawsuit stating that "instead of flying they only learned to hop".
Science of Creative Intelligence
For most of its history, entering MUM freshmen and transfer students began their first semester with a Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI) class, which consists of 33 taped lessons created by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The 2009 MUM Catalog omits the undergraduate SCI course; a course in Science and Technology of Consciousness appears in its place. SCI remains a requirement for graduate programs. SCI outlines a systematic understanding of consciousness that enables the students to connect any academic discipline to a holistic paradigm that includes themselves.All disciplines are integrated with an understanding of the theoretical aspects of human consciousness as outlined in the Science of Creative Intelligence course.
Block system and academic day
Maharishi University of Management operates on a block system. Students take one course at a time during a four-week period. Except for non-standard classes, the academic day runs from 10 am to 3 pm, with an hour break for lunch, Monday through Saturday.Accreditation, rankings and recognition
The University is accredited by The Higher Learning CommissionThe Higher Learning Commission
The Higher Learning Commission is part of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Higher Learning Commission oversees the accreditation of degree-granting colleges and universities in nineteen Midwestern and South-Central states, including Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa,...
and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the oldest accrediting agency in the USA. MUM is recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The University’s business programs (B.A., MBA, and Ph.D.) are accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education
International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education
The International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education is an educational accreditation agency for college and university business programs...
(IACBE). The University is also a charter signatory of the American College and University Climate Commitment.
Maharishi University of Management was listed as a tier 4 university in the "Best Colleges 2010" Masters Midwest Category of U.S. News & World Report College and University rankings. Tier 4 is the lowest ranking for this category.
MUM participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement
National Survey of Student Engagement
The National Survey of Student Engagement is a survey instrument used to gauge the level of student participation at universities and colleges in Canada and the United States as it relates to learning. The results of the survey help administrators and instructors to assess their students' student...
(NSSE) in 2002, 2005, and 2009. According to the 2002 NSSE survey, which obtained data from 135,000 students at 613 institutions, MUM was in the top 10% for: active and collaborative learning, supportive campus environment, enriching educational experiences and student-faculty interaction.
The results of the ACT alumni survey conducted in 2008 show a high level of alumni satisfaction.
MUM is listed in Peterson's 440 Great Colleges for Top Students 2010.
Maharishi University of Management website cites high rankings on "benchmarks of effective educational practice" from the National Survey of Student Engagement
National Survey of Student Engagement
The National Survey of Student Engagement is a survey instrument used to gauge the level of student participation at universities and colleges in Canada and the United States as it relates to learning. The results of the survey help administrators and instructors to assess their students' student...
.
Enrollment
In 2007, MUM had 948 students (813 full time) of whom 78% were foreign students — the third highest number of foreign students at an Iowa university that year. Seventy-one percent of these students were enrolled in a graduate degree program. The largest age group was 25–29 years of age (42%). In this same year, MUM awarded 125 Masters degrees and 34 Bachelor degrees.In 2010, there were 1,210 students enrolled — 754 full-time and 456 part-time students, with 928 full- and part-time graduate students.
According to the MUM publication Achievements, total enrollment for 2009/2010 was 1,231, including 276 undergraduate and 955 graduate students. From this total, 516 were at the Fairfield, Iowa campus and the rest were enrolled in distance education or in MUM's partner institution in China. These students hailed from 75 countries including Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
and Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. The median age of new undergraduate students was 21, with an increase in the percentage of new students in the 17–19 age range.
According to U.S. News and World Reports "Best Colleges 2010" report, MUM's application deadline is "rolling" and its fall admissions selectivity is "less selective".
Financial aid
At MUM more than 90% of U.S. undergraduate students receive financial aid covering most of their tuition, fees, housing and meal charges, which total $30,430 per year. U.S. graduate students may receive financial aid packages covering 100% of their education charges. Financial aid packages consist of federal and state grants (undergraduate students only), institutional scholarships, and low-interest federal loans. MUM participates in Title IVTitle IV
Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 covers the administration of the United States federal student financial aid programs....
financial aid programs.
International students may be eligible for financial aid. Packages are available through the financial aid office that vary by program.
Programs
According to CityTownInfo.com, MUM has more degree programs than 86% of colleges of similar sizes, and more degrees in conservation and resource management than 93% of all other colleges.The University participates in a state sponsored, fast-track license program for school teachers. The University offers a sustainable living program, the first of its kind in the nation. The program includes a B.S in Sustainable Living and an M.B.A. in Sustainable Business. MUM also offers a B.A. in Communications and Media with options for video and audio production, graphic and web design, and professional creative writing. Students and recent graduates have won awards for their work at the Iowa Motion Pictures Association Awards, the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, and the Webby Awards.
Maharishi University of Management has a program known as the "Rotating University", in which students can take courses of study abroad, usually of 4–6 weeks duration, in the one-course-at-a-time format. MUM also offers undergraduate programs in China.
Undergraduate
Bachelor
- Art and Design (B.F.A.)
- Business (B.A.)
- Communications and Media (B.A.)
- Computer Science (B.A. / B.S.)
- Elementary Education (B.A.)
- Secondary Education (B.A.)
- Literature (B.A.)
- Literature with an Emphasis in Writing (B.A.)
- Maharishi Vedic Science (B.A.)
- Mathematical Sciences (B.S.)
- Physiology and Health (B.A.)
- Sustainable Living (B.S.)
Minor
- Maharishi Gandharva Veda music
- Physics
- World Peace
- Improvisation Movement
Graduate
Master
- Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Sustainable Business
- Accounting Professionals Program (MBA)
- Computer Science (M.S.)
- Teaching: Elementary Education (M.A.)
- Teaching: Secondary Education (M.A.)
- Maharishi Vedic Science (M.A.)
Ph.D.
- Maharishi Vedic Science
- Management
Other features
The University is experimenting with "brain integration report cards", which will measure and evaluate a students brain development as the education process progresses.Health
Maharishi University of Management emphasizes "natural health" and students are encouraged to maintain a regular schedule of academic work, rest, meals, and exercise. The university provides guidance on natural health improvement practices to the students, including guidelines for daily and seasonal routines, diet and digestion, simple breathing techniques, basic yogaYoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
postures called asana
Asana
Asana is a body position, typically associated with the practice of Yoga, originally identified as a mastery of sitting still, with the spine as a conduit of biodynamic union...
s, personalized fitness programs, and self-pulse health assessment techniques. Students are required to participate in physical activity every day. A variety of recreation, exercise classes and sports are offered to meet most schedules. A recreation center and an outdoor swimming pool are open to students at no charge. MUM prohibits the use of non-prescribed drugs, alcoholic beverages, and smoking on its campus.
The university also offers an all-vegetarian, organic
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
menu made from fresh ingredients rather than frozen or processed foods. Organic, whole-grain breads and pastries are produced in university kitchens, while a local, organic dairy farm supplies milk, yogurt and ice cream. University organic farms and greenhouses supply the produce, and are cooked within a day of picking. A buffet-style dining room includes outdoor dining when weather permits.
Residence halls
Single, furnished rooms are standard for all students to ensure quiet and privacy, and include high-speed Internet connections. Most residence halls are equipped with exercise and TV rooms. Family homes are available in a 200-unit Utopia Park located on the northern part of campus, and housing can also be found throughout the town of Fairfield. Freshmen are required to live on campus. Compared to other colleges, MUM offers dorm rooms to a higher than average percentage of its students.Seven new "home-style" residence halls opened in early 2005, each with eight private bedrooms and baths plus a central kitchen and living room area. The new residence halls were built according to the ancient principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
Maharishi Sthapatya Veda
Maharishi Sthapatya Veda is a set of architectural and planning principles assembled by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi based on "ancient Sanskrit texts" Maharishi Sthapatya Veda architecture is also called "Maharishi Vastu" architecture, "Fortune-Creating" buildings and homes, and "Maharishi Vedic...
architecture. Geothermal technology is used to conserve energy, and natural materials were used whenever possible.
The University is now designing its first "green" residence hall - a fully nontoxic building with earth-friendly energy and water systems.
Dress code and deportment
According to the student handbook, students are expect to maintain a dignified behavior, and are guided in their speech, etiquette and attire. Students are required to wear neat and clean clothes in the classroom, dining hall and meditation halls. T-shirts are allowed during meditation, but not in classes or the dining hall. Shorts and other revealing clothing are only allowed during sports. Dyed hair and unusual piercings are not allowed in the classroom. Students from other cultures and traditions can wear traditional dress. Men are only allowed beards for religious or medical reasons, and with a letter from their clergy or doctor.Sports and recreation
MUM students compete in numerous team and individual sports. Mens and women's golf is an intercollegiate sport; mens and women's soccer is a club sport. Intramural sports include soccer, archery, badminton, baseball, basketball, fencing, field hockey, football, rock climbing, sailing, swimming, tennis, ultimate Frisbee and weight lifting. Players on the soccer team represent as many as 16 countries, and the team has been undefeated champion of its league three times.A 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) indoor facility is equipped with a weight room, gymnastic equipment, basketball courts, volleyball courts, tennis courts, ping-pong tables, track, and a 28 feet (9 m) rock-climbing wall. Outside are 10 tennis courts, a soccer field and a swimming pool with an adjoining sand volleyball court. The swimming pool is open form June to mid-September, and there is an indoor pool in Fairfield (owned by Fairfield Parks & Recreation) available throughout the year. There is also a soccer stadium, the home field of the University soccer team.
Within a five-minute walk is a small two-lake reservoir, suitable for flat water kayaking, canoeing and windsurfing. A 17 miles (27 km) walking and cycling trail surrounds the lakes. Bicycles, canoes, and cross-country skis are available for student use through the Recreation Center. The Department of Exercise and Sport Science offers three-day adventure trips (on weekends between courses) that are professionally supervised. These can include alpine skiing, rock climbing, white-water kayaking on the Wolf River
Wolf River (Fox River)
The Wolf River, long, is one of the two National Scenic Rivers in Wisconsin, along with the St. Croix River. The scenic portion is long. It rises in the north woods of the state, with the northernmost fork stemming from Pine Lake in Forest County. The river then flows south through Langlade and...
in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, horseback riding, and canoe trips.
Activities
Activities and organizations include drama/theater, radio station, choral group, student newspaper, global student council, fencing club and knitting club. Student services include a health clinic, psychological counseling and legal services. First-year students begin school year with "base camp", a four-day camping trip that is integrated into the very first academic class, The Science and Technology of Consciousness. Base camp activities include swimming, hiking and canoeing.The Global Student Council hosts events throughout the year, and the Student Activities department supports and helps staff these events. Cultural festivals are organized by students from different nations and may include food fests with music and costume. Annual Eco Fairs include presentations and panel discussions with experts in renewable energy and sustainable living, sustainable agriculture, green building processes and methods, and renewable water filtration systems for home or business, plus a fashion show using only organic or recycled materials. Talent variety shows, open mike evenings, games night at the Cosmic Café, and national-day celebrations honoring the over 50 nations represented on campus occur during the year. The Student Union Theater hosts films and live performances, while a large downstairs ballroom is the site for everything from Latin dance classes to fashion shows. The library has over 1,500 DVD/video for rent.
Research
Maharishi University of Management publishes the Journal of Modern Science and Vedic Science. MUM faculty members have published research on a variety of TM-related technologies in numerous scientific journals, including the American Heart AssociationAmerican Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
's journals: Hypertension
Hypertension (journal)
Hypertension is a monthly, peer reviewed, scientific journal, established with the 1979 issue , and published by the American Heart Association . The Editor in Chief is John E...
and Stroke
Stroke (journal)
Stroke is a peer-reviewed medical journal published monthly by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins on behalf of the American Heart Association. It covers research on cerebral circulation and related diseases, including clinical research on assessment of risk for stroke, diagnosis, prevention, and...
.
Since the establishment of its research facilities, the university has been awarded over 150 federal, state, and private grants and contracts totaling over $24 million, including funding from the NIH's Cancer Institute, the NIH Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
, and the U.S. Department of Education. A university website says that research grants have been awarded in the fields of physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, molecular biology
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
, physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, and preventive medicine.
Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention
The Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention (INMP) (formerly the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention) collaborates with a consortium of medical centers including the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
College of Medicine in Iowa City, Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is a WASC accredited, private, non-profit school located in Willowbrook, unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was founded in 1966 in response to inadequate medical facilities within the Watts region of Los Angeles,...
and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention trains future researchers that includes graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and physicians, in the area of natural approaches to medicine.
In the past decade, Institute director Robert Schneider and national collaborators have received grants totaling over $10.5 million for research on prevention-oriented natural medicine. The university has received more than $20 million in funding from different branches of the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. The university's Department of Physiology and the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention received $8 million from the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) to establish the first research center in the U.S. specializing in natural preventive medicine for minorities.
Other institutes and centers
- The Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy (ISTPP) was founded by John Hagelin to identify, scientifically evaluate, and implement proven, prevention-oriented, forward-looking solutions to critical national and global problems;
- The Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS), whose founder and director is David R. Leffler; and,
- The Center for Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition, whose director is faculty member, Fred Travis.
Other views of research
In 1992, a New York Times article described Maharishi University as a place where all students and faculty meditate, and where the Maharishi's teachings are woven into mathematics, physics and every other subject, similar to colleges with strong religious affiliations. The article describes MUM as "an accredited university with grant-winning faculty members and competitive students who mix transcendental meditation ... with serious academics studies striving to create their own new world". The article said that even as the university gained research grants and subsequent credibility, it also faced controversy. Curtis Mailloux (class of 1979), said the Fairfield campus is a "coercive environment" with a "propensity for fraudulent research".In 2002, the Gazette (Cedar Rapids and Iowa City) reported that, despite the fact that major medical schools might have in the past "turned up their noses" at studies MUM was conducting, millions of dollars had been awarded by the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, and major universities, including the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
; University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
; and University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, were conducting research on alternative medicine and therapies with MUM. Maharishi University and the University of Iowa, the article reported, were working on a study that looked at whether holistic therapy can effect the slowing or progression of heart disease.
According to religious scholar Lola Williamson, former MUM professors have criticized the research conducted at MUM and the uses to which that research is put, including to obtain tax exempt status, as fraudulent. Former MUM professor of economics and business law, Anthony DeNaro, stated in 1986 that there is "a very serious and deliberate pattern of fraud...designed to misrepresent the TM movement as a science". Williamson also says that Dennis Roark, former Dean of Faculty and chair of the physics department in the 1970s, stated in a 1987 letter that he believed negative data was routinely suppressed in MUM research, and that scientific claims as to both the beneficial effects of TM and physics "are not only without reasonable basis, but are in fact in many ways fraudulent." Roark stated that he had questioned MUM professor Michael Dilbeck regarding his studies of brain wave coherence using EEG measurements during practice of the TM-Sidhi program, and that Dilbeck admitted that it was impossible to make EEG measurements while the subjects were moving. Williamson says that Roark also wrote that when he was on faculty in the 1970s he questioned other investigators regarding studies of alleged crime reduction as a result of the Maharishi Effect, and they admitted to suppressing negative data and using only data that supported favorable conclusions.
Reception
According to the New York Times, some former members of the movement have called MUM a "training ground" for a cult. Non-student members of the movement have moved to Fairfield so they can join in group sessions in the university's golden domes, and to help establish world peace. The article quotes Stephen Crow, then deputy director of the North Central Association of Colleges and SchoolsNorth Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
, the accrediting body for Midwest schools, as saying that North Central has found the university and its facilities and faculty to be "appropriate". The article says that John Patterson, a professor at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, questions the accreditation itself, saying it lends credibility to what he describes as "these crackpots".
In 1992, reporter Michael D’Antonio wrote in his book, Heaven on Earth – Dispatches from America’s Spiritual Frontier, that, as practiced at MUM, Transcendental Meditation is "a cult rather than a culture". D'Antonio wrote that Transcendental Meditation was like the worst of religion: rigid, unreasonable, repressive, and authoritarian, characterized by overt manipulation, a disregard for serious scholarship, and an unwillingness to question authority. For the first time in his travels he found people he believed to be truly deluded, and a physics department teaching theories that were dead wrong. D’Antonio charges that they have taken Transcendental Meditiation "into a grandiose narcissistic dream, a form of intellectual bondage, that they call enlightment".
Popular culture
The Beach BoysThe Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
recorded their 1979 album M.I.U. Album
M.I.U. Album
M.I.U. Album is the 22nd studio album by The Beach Boys, released in 1978. Recorded at a fraught time for the band, only Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Brian Wilson appear throughout the album. Carl and Dennis Wilson are audible on only a few of the songs....
on the campus, and named it after the university.
Man on the Moon, a biopic of entertainer Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
, includes a scene at Maharishi International University in which Kaufman is asked to leave a retreat because his behavior was unbecoming an enlightened individual.
Faculty
As of 2007, MUM had 52 faculty members.For the 2007-2008 academic year, average salaries for MUM full time faculty were as follows, followed by the national averages for that year:
| Level | MUM Male Faculty | MUM Female Faculty | National Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professor | $19,595 | N/A | $98,500 |
| Associate Professor | $14,648 | $9,644 | $70,800 |
| Assistant Professor | $17,109 | $6,678 | $59,300 |
| Instructor | $7,992 | N/A | $55,300 |
| All Faculty | $15,692 | $7,296 | $71,100 |
Notable past and present faculty at MUM include David Orme-Johnson
David Orme-Johnson
David W. Orme-Johnson is a former professor of psychology at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. He is the author of over 100 papers investigating the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique....
, John Hagelin
John Hagelin
John Samuel Hagelin is an American particle physicist, three-time candidate of the Natural Law Party for President of the United States , and the director of the Transcendental Meditation movement for the US....
, Ashley Deans
Ashley Deans
Ashley Deans is Professor of Consciousness-Based Education at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa and Executive Director of Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment...
, and Elaine Ingham
Elaine Ingham
Elaine Ingham is an American soil biology researcher and founder of Soil Foodweb Inc. She is recognised around the world as a leader in soil microbiology and research of the soil food web. She is a key author of the USDA's Soil Biology Primer...
.
Alumni
Noted alumni include UFO expert Jeff PeckmanJeff Peckman
Jeff Peckman is an American UFO disclosure activist as well as a political candidate for the Natural Law Party. He lives in Denver, Colorado, and describes himself as an entrepreneur and consultant.-Career:...
who attended for one year, Ron Parker
Ron Parker
Ronald J.D. Parker is a former political candidate in Ontario, Canada. He led the Natural Law Party of Ontario from its inception in 1993 until its dissolution in 2000...
, a Canadian who ran on the Natural Law Party
Natural Law Party
The Natural Law Party was a transnational party based on the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was active in up to 74 countries, and ran candidates in at least ten. Founded in 1992, it was mostly disbanded in 2004 but continues in India and in some U.S. states.The NLP viewed "natural law" as...
ticket and received his PhD in physics from MUM, filmmaker Shrikar Madiraju
Shrikar Madiraju
Shrikar Madiraju, born 17 July 1975 in Hyderabad, India, is a film director living in the US.-Background:Shrikar was raised in Vizag, in Andhra Pradesh, India...
, and writer Peter McWilliams
Peter McWilliams
Peter Alexander McWilliams was a writer and self-publisher of best-selling self-help books. He was an advocate for those suffering from depression. And, in his later years, he was a cannabis activist. Terminally ill with AIDS and cancer, he became a vocal campaigner for the legalization of medical...
. Author John Gray
John Gray (U.S. author)
John Gray is an American relationship counselor, lecturer and author who has several university degrees received under a variety of circumstances. In 1969, he began a nine year association with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi before beginning his career as an author and personal relationship counselor...
has been called an alumnus of MIU, but other sources list him as an alumnus of Maharishi European Research University (MERU) in Switzerland. Other alumni include Chris Hartnett, CEO of USA Global Link, who received his BA from MUM, Michael C. Dimick, a Natural Law Party candidate who received his MBA degree, and Jennie Rothenberg-Gritz who is the senior editor for TheAtlantic.com A son of Joaquim Chissano
Joaquim Chissano
Joaquim Alberto Chissano served as the second President of Mozambique for nineteen years from 6 November 1986 until 2 February 2005. Since stepping down as president, Chissano has become an elder statesman and is called upon by international bodies, such as the United Nations, to be an envoy or...
, then President of Mozambique, and several children of his cabinet members received scholarships to Maharishi International University in the mid-1990s.
External links
- Maharishi University of Management - Homepage
- Consciousness based Education Programs
- News Video on the Sustainable Living Center
- Conscious Times Online The Student Newspaper of Maharishi University of Management