Dear friends,
I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Ji Hyang Padma as Tufts University’s new Buddhist Chaplain. In this role, Ji Hyang will provide support for student leaders of the Tufts Buddhist Mindfulness Sangha, develop and facilitate opportunities for all community members interested in practicing and exploring diverse Buddhist traditions and practices on campus, offer pastoral care, and work alongside the University Chaplaincy team and campus partners on various interfaith, intercultural, social justice, and anti-racism initiatives. She will begin her role on August 16, 2021.
For more than two decades, Ji Hyang has served as a Buddhist chaplain, interfaith leader, faculty member, diversity trainer, and dialogue facilitator in various higher education and spiritual contexts. She is currently completing a one-year residency in health care chaplaincy at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.
Ji Hyang previously served at Wellesley College, where she worked alongside a multifaith team of chaplains and staff; supported a diverse and pluralistic community of students through meditation offerings and dharma talks; participated in the creation of a campus-wide diversity initiative; and premiered an innovative Spirituality and the Arts series, among many other collaborative and creative programs.
Ji Hyang has also co-led staff trainings on cultural competency, diversity and inclusion as well as an action research project, in the form of a restorative justice circle on the topic of race and equity that catalyzed systemic change.
Ji Hyang earned a doctorate degree from the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology/Sofia University and an undergraduate degree from Wellesley College. She has published numerous articles and book chapters, and is the author of two books, Field of Blessings: Ritual and Consciousness in the Work of Buddhist Healers and Living the Season: Zen Practices for Transformative Times.
I am confident that Ji Hyang will bring her creative vision, holistic practices, and authentic presence to our University Chaplaincy team and am grateful to the search committee, including Buddhist Mindfulness Sangha student leaders, Jiamin Li, A22 and Neha Ratnapuri, A23, for their outstanding contributions to this nationwide search.
Please join me in welcoming Ji Hyang to her new role as Buddhist Chaplain at Tufts University!
Pax et lux,
Reverend Elyse Nelson Winger
University Chaplain