By Kathleen deLaski, via The Washington Post
My father spent his life openly searching for meaning. He served as deacon of our Presbyterian Church, followed an Indian guru through the ’80s and ’90s, and channeled with seers to get in touch with his past lives. The bookshelves of my childhood held the mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Edgar Cayce’s prophecies.
It was not your average household.
When Dad told me he wanted to give George Mason University $10 million to establish a center to spread the study and practice of “finding yourself,” it’s safe to say I was a little concerned.
By this time, in 2008, I had been appointed by Virginia’s governor to George Mason’s Board of Visitors and was chair of the Academic Affairs committee. I felt a sense of responsibility to make sure any gift aligned with the university’s academic agenda.
Turns out, Dad was way ahead of his time with his vision to connect well-being to universities.