Conferences

Researchers, Educators Join Dr. Hagelin at
National Conference on Children’s Health and Education

On May 12, US Peace Government President Dr. John Hagelin hosted a major national news conference in Washington, D.C., on Children’s Health and Education. The conference, held at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, showcased 30 years of scientific research and classroom experience demonstrating that the practice of Transcendental Meditation reduces stress, anxiety, depression, and learning disabilities and improves educational outcomes. Top researchers and educators (see below) reported their findings, and several student TM practitioners gave powerful testimonials about their experiences in school after learning the practice. (For a summary of scientific research on this educational approach, click here.)

Over 250 D.C.-area educators attended the conference, and many are now eager to implement this innovative educational approach in their own schools. An ongoing series of follow-up meetings with 60 schools and interested foundations in the D.C. area.is currently under way.

Extensive media coverage of the May 12 conference included very positive television reports on two local schools where teachers and students practice TM. These reports have now been aired in cities across the country.

Speakers at the May 12 conference included:

	John Hagelin, Ph.D. Dr. Hagelin is a leading scientist and public policy expert, chief advisor to the Congressional Prevention Coalition, and Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy—a public policy think tank at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. He directs the implementation of the Transcendental Meditation program in government, schools, and hospitals nationwide.
	William R. Stixrud, Ph.D. Dr. Stixrud is a clinical neuropsychologist and Director of William Stixrud and Associates in Silver Spring, Maryland, a group practice specializing in the neuropsychological assessment of children, adolescents, and adults with learning, attentional/executive, and/or emotional disorders. Dr. Stixrud is also a member of the clinical supervisory faculty of the Children’s National Medical Center and holds an appointment in the Department of Psychiatry, George Washington University School of Medicine.
	Otelio Randall, M.D. Dr. Randall is Professor of Internal Medicine at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Director of the Howard University Hospital (HUH) Preventive Cardiology Program, HUH Cardiovascular Disease Prevention/Rehabilitation Center and the HU General Clinical Research Center. His research interests include preventive cardiology and prevention/regression of obesity.
	Vernon A. Barnes, Ph.D. Dr. Barnes is a research scientist at the Georgia Institute for Prevention of Human Diseases and Accidents, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia; and principal author of a study published in the April 2004 issue of the American Journal of Hypertension showing lowered blood pressure in at-risk teens who practice the Transcendental Meditation technique.
	Rita Benn, Ph.D. Dr. Benn is a clinical psychologist: Director of the Education Department of the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the University of Michigan; and a research scientist with the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at the University. Dr. Benn’s research on school children practicing the TM program found reduced stress, improved emotional development, and improved relations with peers, compared to controls.
	George H. Rutherford, Ph.D. Dr. Rutherford was the Principal and Chief Operating Officer of the Fletcher-Johnson Educational Center in Washington, D.C., for 30 years and Principal of the Thurgood Marshall Middle School #171 in Baltimore, Maryland. He is currently Principal of the Ideal Academy Public Charter School in the District. Dr. Rutherford introduced the Transcendental Meditation technique to the faculty and students of Fletcher-Johnson in 1994, and continues to be a national advocate of the technique’s use in educational settings.
	Linda Handy, Ph.D. Dr. Handy is Academic Director of the Chelsea School, a private school in Silver Spring, Maryland, specializing in educating children with language-based learning disabilities, where research is now under way evaluating the effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation program on students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD).
	Carmen N’Namdi Ms. N’Namdi is Co-founder and Principal of the Nataki Talibah Schoolhouse of Detroit; Chair of the Board, National Charter School Institute; and Member of the Board of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies. The Nataki School is an award-winning middle school where 120 teachers and students practice the Transcendental Meditation technique together twice a day.
	James Krag, M.D. Dr. Krag is President of the Virginia Association of Community Psychiatrists; Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Virginia; and Medical Director, Valley Community Services Board in Staunton, Virginia. He is a frequent lecturer on the clinical benefits of the Transcendental Meditation program for children and adults.
	Sarina Grosswald, Ed.D. Dr. Grosswald is an expert in cognitive learning; President of SJ Grosswald & Associates, a consulting firm in medical education in Alexandria, Virginia; and Director of Continuing Medical Education for the American Medical Women’s Association. She is also Project Director for the research study on the Transcendental Meditation program at the Chelsea School.
	For more information about this education conference, please visit http://www.stressfreeschools.org.