Dalai Lama recognized by UC Merced as latest recipient of the Spendlove Prize
In recognition of his legacy of advancing equality through nonviolence, the Dalai Lama was honored last week with UC Merced’s 15th Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance.
The award was founded by Merced local Sherrie Spendlove, who established it in honor of her parents, Alice and Clifford.
The pair were lifelong professionals who dedicated themselves to the lives of citizens, youth and students in the Merced region, a university news release announcing the prize said.
The Spendlove Prize annually honors an individual who can act as a role model and inspirational figure for students, faculty and the community surrounding UC Merced. The award has an annual value of $15,000, according to the release.
In lauding the efforts by the Dalai Lama, who serves as the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and has worked for decades toward a free Tibet, this year’s award gives a nod toward peace and justice.
“In our increasingly politically-divided and highly confrontational world, the messages of kindness, peace, compassion and forgiveness of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama are helpful, not only in advancing sustainable social justice using non-violent methods, but also as a path to better interpersonal relations and a more meaningful life,” Sherrie Spendlove said in the release.
The Dalai Lama was officially presented with the Spendlove Prize in a Sept. 18 virtual ceremony, prior to the observance of International Day of Peace on Sept. 21. This year’s theme is “End racism. Build peace.”
About the Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama was born in 1935 to a farming family in a small village in northeastern Tibet. By age 2, the child, then named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama.
He received a monastic education starting at age 6 and obtained the Geshe Lharampa degree, equivalent to the highest doctorate in Buddhist philosophy, at 23, the release said.
After China’s invasion of Tibet in 1950, the Dalai Lama was called upon to assume full political power. Nine years later, after Chinese troops suppressed the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa, he was forced to escape into exile.
The Dalai Lama has lived in Dharamsala, in northern India, since.
In 1963, the Dalai Lama presented a draft democratic constitution for Tibet that enshrines freedom of speech, belief and movement. It also provides guidelines on the functioning of the Tibetan administration with respect to Tibetans living in exile. The Dalai Lama addressed members of the U.S. Congress in 1987 to propose a Five-Point Peace Plan for Tibet.
The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet. He also became the first Nobel Laureate recognized for his concern for global environmental problems, the release said.
In 2011, the Dalai Lama requested to be relieved of his temporal authority, putting an end to the 368-year-old tradition of the dalai lamas serving as both the spiritual and temporal head of Tibet.
Throughout his life, the Dalai Lama has traveled to more than 67 countries, authored or co-authored over 110 books and received more than 150 awards, honorary doctorates and prizes in recognition of his messages of peace and other concepts.
In receiving the Spendlove prize, the Dalai Lama joins the ranks of other esteemed awardees.
“In naming the Dalai Lama the latest recipient of the Spendlove Prize, UC Merced recognizes a global spiritual leader committed to expressing the importance of happiness, compassion, warm-heartedness, self-discipline, friendship and human solidarity amongst our diversity,” Department of Literature, Languages and Cultures Professor Nigel Hatton said in the release.
Past recipients include Merced native and Harvard professor Charles Ogletree Jr., who was the first person to receive the award at UC Merced’s grand opening in 2005, the release said.
Former prize recipients also include UC Santa Cruz professor Faye Crosby, attorney and professor Anita F. Hill, 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú Tum, human rights activist and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Nadia Murad and civil rights activist and Black Lives Matter Global Network co-founder Alicia Garza.
The complete list of recipients is available online.
The Spendlove Prize Selection Committee is chaired by School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Dean Jeffrey Gilger, Sherrie Spendlove as representative from the Spendlove family, Hatton as faculty member and Lee Anderson and Charlie Bennett as community representatives.
This story was originally published September 27, 2022 at 12:15 PM.
