CCC Projects
Academic Conferences, Events, and University Courses
Produced in Collaboration with CCC
February 28: Compassion stories: Schweitzer's 21st Century Legacy
April 18, 2024: Second Annual Compassion Conference at Quinnipiac
The Center for Compassion and Creativity in partnership with the Albert Schweitzer Institute. Exploring compassionate responses to war, polarization, and climate change. Keynote Speaker: Scarlett Lewis from the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement
Watch Panels from the Conference
Political PolarizationCompassionate Framing begins at 16:15
Full Panel Discussion begins at 21:25Stephen Dydo plays the quin beginning at 0:00
Compassionate Framing begins at 6:06
Full Panel Discussion begins at 9:45Sept. 29-30, 2022 Compassion Conference: A Path to Global Well-Being
at Quinnipiac University presented by Albert Schweitzer Institute and CCC, featuring ten panel discussions: Being the Calm in the Storm, Healing Polarization, Replenishing a Weary Heart, From Anger to Kindness, Practicing Self-Compassion, Finding the Courage to Care, Shifting From Me to You, Engaged Compassion, Finding Compassion in Career, Debunking Myths. The forty-five panelists included Quinnipiac Faculty from various departments such as Political Science, Law, Nursing, Philosophy, Medicine, Engineering, Psychology, PT, OT, Social Work, Business, Education, Design, Biology, Sociology, as well as Quinnipiac students and alumni, plus community members including a Buddhist monk/secular teacher, a rabbi, a Congregational minister, and musicians.
April 2018: Women of Islam Event.
WCSU students and community members were invited to watch a video of Shaykh Omar Suleiman speaking on the topic of women’s rights in Islam. Participants were presented with a series of questions to invite conversation and discussion.
Fall 2017: CCCI Director and Assistant-Director Become Co-advisors for the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at WCSU. The mission of MSA is to provide basic education on Islamic practices/religious beliefs, spread compassion through community service/interfaith events, and create a safe space for Muslim/non-Muslim student communication.
September 2017: The second Meditation: Multi-Cultural Perspectives Event, co-hosted and sponsored with the Institute of Holistic Health Studies. Students, faculty, staff, and community members were invited to join various workshops centering the theme of meditation and mindfulness.
Spring 2017: Compassion in the Real World University Course for honors students and non-matriculate students at WCSU, taught by DNKL’s Geshe Lobsang Dhargey, Dr. John Briggs, Dr. Eric Lewis and Dr. Stephen Dydo.
April 2017: Nurturing Compassion & Creativity in Education Conference co-hosted with the WCSU Doctor of Education in Instructional Leadership Program, WCSU Counselor Education, WCSU Dept. of Social Work, and DNKL Tibetan Buddhist Center for Universal Peace. The keynote was Scarlett Lewis “Choosing Love.” Breakout sessions provided opportunities for like-minded education professionals, researchers, advocates, and others interested in compassionate and creative education to learn, network, and engage. Sessions included: Integrating Yoga & Mindfulness in Schools, Developing Social Emotional Learning in Students, Mindfulness for Educators, Compassion in Practice, Compassion & Analytical Selective-Focus Skills (COMPASS), Teaching Compassion in Children with Comfort Dogs, An Update on the TeachLive Lab, Creating Enrichment Academies in Elementary Schools, Cultivating Cultural Awareness in Middle School Students, among others.
November 2016: International Cultural and Heritage Festival, co-hosted with the HPX Department, ISEP, and the WCSU Office of Diversity and Equity, inviting cultural and dance groups to participate hosting two booths. WCSU students had the opportunity to experience these diverse cultures with compassionate open minds.
Fall 2016: Buddhist Meditation at Noon co-sponsored with DNKL. Every other Wednesdays during the fall 2016 semester for students, faculty, staff, and public in the Kathwari Honors House.
September 2016: Meditation: Multi-Cultural Perspectives Event co-hosted and sponsored with the Institute of Holistic Health Studies and Western’s Office of Diversity and Equity. Students, faculty, staff, and community members were invited to join various workshops centering the theme of meditation and mindfulness.
September 2016: Peace Jam Fest, co-hosted for WCSU students to raise awareness about Peace Jam’s missions and goals. Participants were from area school districts.
April 2016: Peace Jam Slam, co-hosted with the Honors Program, DNKL, WCSU ConnCap and Peace Jam. High school students from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York were invited to participate in workshops and family groups on important issues centering on compassion and creativity.
Spring 2016: CCCI Director meets with the White House staff and the U.S. Secretary of Education, Secretary John King, on implementing social-emotional learning programs around the country.
April 2015: Jesse Lewis Empowering Educators Act. CCCI director assisted in creating the act introduced by Senator Blumenthal and delivered a speech with Senator Blumenthal about the important role that social and emotional learning plays in education at the ceremony announcing the act.
September 2015: Mindfulness and Compassion in the Classroom Conference, co-hosted with DNKL for K-12 educators at WCSU. Top experts in the field of mindfulness and compassion shared cutting edge data and practical tips on how to integrate into the classroom and schools. Integrating Mindfulness and Compassion in Education is essential for building Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools which is so important for student success in school, work, and life. Speakers included: Ted DesMaisons, US Coordinator for the Mindfulness in Schools Project; Scarlett Lewis, Choose Love Foundation; Chris Kukk, Director of CCCI; Thomas Pruzinsky, Professor of Psychology, Quinnipiac University; Brendan Ozawa-de Silva, Associate Professor, Emory University.
Fall 2014: Ethics in Business: Challenges for a Changing World Forum, an ethics forum co-hosted by Ancell School of Business, Ancell’s Sustainability, and CSR. A day’s worth of talks and activities with Dr. Ron Nahser.
April 2014: RACE, a student-led social work event with guest speakers from across Connecticut discussing race relations.
April 12-13, 2013: Compassion and Creativity Conference focusing on how the combination of creativity and compassion can bring communities together in constructive and healing ways. It was a highly interactive opportunity to explore, along with national and local leaders, how the idea of compassion is valued across various personal and professional communities. The event had brought together thinkers, writers, and leaders in a forum for knocking down the proverbial walls between academic, business, government, spiritual, and medical communities by focusing on the role of compassion in our daily lives. Panelists Dr. Bernie Siegel and Congressman Richard Blumenthal gave keynote addresses. Three central questions that drove each panel discussion and act as the common threads throughout the panels: How do you shift the focus from “me” to “we”? How can you turn a destructive event into something constructive? and How does compassion affect the dynamics of a community?
April 20-21 2012: Compassion and Creativity Conference. Organizers of what was to become CCCI, plus WCSU students, explored compassion and creativity with the following panelists: psychologists John Amoroso (Atlantic U), Daniel Barrett (WCSU) and Fredrica Halligan (WCSU); philosophers including David Capps (WCSU) and Bill Spontak (WCSU); literature specialists including John Briggs (WCSU), Peter Elbow (UMass Amherst), Edward Hagan (WCSU) and Roland Merulo; musicians including Norman Carey (WCSU), Barbara Hesser (NYU), Peter Jampel (NYU), and Eric Lewis (WCSU); Buddhist and religious scholars such as Tenzin Bhuchung, Lobsang Dhargye (DNKL), Robert Forman (CUNY), Paul Hackett (Columbia), and David Kittay (Columbia); the political scientist Chris Kukk (WCSU); and many other teachers, students and community members.
WCSU Student Compassion Club in connection with CCCI
Spring 2018: Coordinated volunteers with Muslim Student Association, Rotaract, and HSOC to serve meals at the Danbury Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen on the fourth Friday of every month.
December 2017: Co-sponsored with the Institute of Holistic Health Studies a “Stressbusters” event to provide resources and stress relieving methods for the students on campus. CCCI and HSOC also co-hosted a “Compassionate Hearts and Talks” table at the event.
April 2017: Coordinated with Families Network of Western, CT, Inc. in setting up a pinwheel garden at the Kathwari Honors House to raise awareness for April as the National Child Abuse Prevention Month and volunteered to set up gardens at other locations.
January 2017: Hosted two documentary nights and bake sales to help raise funds for Nobel Peace Laureate, Leymah Gbowee’s visit to WCSU.
December 2016: Coordinated a food and clothing drive for Danbury Families and Children’s Aid.
December 2016: Co-sponsored with the Institute of Holistic Health Studies a “Stressbusters” event to provide resources and stress relieving methods for the students on campus. CCCI and HSOC also co-hosted a “Compassionate Hearts and Talks” table at the event.
December 2016: Assisted and volunteered with WCSU’s Community Services Project Connect Event, by giving out clothing, food, and services for those in need.
November 2016: Arranged with the Family and Children Aid, Danbury, CT for WCSU students to take a tour of their facilities, and to discuss some of the challenges they address in Danbury and how we can best assist and provide volunteers.
Fall 2016: Hosted every Friday at 6PM a “Compassion Book Club” where WCSU students were invited to read and discuss Strangers Drowning by Larissa MacFarquhar at the Kathwari Honors House.
April 2016: Coordinated with Roots and Shoots club, “Plant Your Way to a Healthy Life,” an Earth Day event where WCSU students were invited to plant a flower seed and enjoy fruits and vegetables provided by Sodexo while discussing healthier options for diets and exercise.
November 2015: Hosted a screening of Paper Tiger, a documentary story where a public school was in a process of deteriorating as a result of the increasing number of drop outs and drug addictions. WCSU students were invited to the screening to discuss these problems that are becoming apparent in schools of all levels.
October 2015: Coordinated a “Chalk Talk” event on campus, where faculty and students were invited to write down and participate in an open discussion about what makes them happy and thankful.
September 2014: Coordination between WCSU students, the City of Danbury, and the Danbury Garden Club to create a Compassion Garden at City Hall to represent the diverse communities of this city.
August 2014: Collaboration between WCSU’s Creativity and Compassion Club, WCSU’s Honors Students, Wooster School’s Compassion Club, Unger Industrial and local hotels and dentists to fill 50 backpacks to help alleviate the suffering of the area’s homeless population.
May 2014: Hosted an art reception at Gallery@287 in Danbury for the show “Haiti, Beyond the Ruins.” This exhibit wove compassion with creativity through the art of Bryn Gillette.
Publications
Briggs, John (ed.). Creativity & Compassion: How They Come Together. Karuna Publications, 2012.
Kukk, Christopher. The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success. HarperCollins/HarperOne, 2017.
Compassion Outreach
June 2013: Assisted the City of Danbury in becoming the first city on the east coast to become a City of Compassion
September 2014: Assisted the City of Milford in becoming a City of Compassion
2015-2016: Assisted William & Mary in becoming a University of Compassion
CCCI staff, students, and alumni have been assisting West Hartford, Berlin, New Britain, and Brookfield in becoming towns of compassion.