Naropa University, founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, has announced plans to sell its main campus in Boulder, Colorado, after 40 years at the location. The decision was communicated to the campus community via email earlier this month, highlighting the university’s need to balance the value of its historic campus with the opportunity to secure funding for its future. The move follows the sale of Naropa’s 30th Street Paramita campus five years ago and the announcement of plans to sell its associated preschool.
“We recognize the profound value and importance that the land, which has been home to Naropa University for several decades, holds for many of us,” the university states in its email. “We now need to balance that with the opportunity to create a significant fund for investment in Naropa’s future.” (Daily Camera)
The university does not expect to vacate the main campus before 2026. The email outlined that Naropa will have the flexibility to manage its departure over several years, depending on its campus relocation goals and broader strategic planning. The administration does not anticipate leaving the campus before June 2027.
In an interview with the Boulder Weekly newspaper, Naropa president Chuck Lief said that a buyer for the space had been found, although details could not be made public at the time. The sale, the value of which had yet to be disclosed, would allow the university to re-invest in its academic offerings, he said.
“For a school of our size, it’s a lot of money,” Lief said. “This will not just sort of nibble around the edges. We’ll be able to actually do some significant investing—whatever that looks like.” (Boulder Weekly)
The decision to sell has sparked feelings of grief and loss among students and alumni. Naropa student Rachael Gula compared the news to the emotional experience of selling a family home. “The sense of loss, it reminds me of being a kid when the family house is sold and you have to move,” she said. “It’s that grief of losing the stability of having a place.” (Daily Camera)
Another student, Max Gregor, expressed similar sentiments: “Immediately I’m grieving the loss of a physical location that over the past few years has meant a lot to me.” Gregor added that the main campus, at 2,130 Arapahoe Avenue, had been central to the Naropa community since the early 1980s, and the sale would include the buildings, classrooms, cottages, and Performing Arts Center. “It’s sad,” Gregor remarked. “It’s a historic place. It’s a community that has been built around a physical location.” (Daily Camera)
A 2022 graduate of Naropa, Sakile Melchishua, described the news as heartbreaking. Melchishua emphasized the significance of the main campus in her personal and academic development: “The magic that makes Naropa, Naropa and makes Naropa a place students can find themselves in a mindful way, I feel like that’s going to be gone.” (Daily Camera)
Despite the sale of the main campus, the university’s Nalanda Campus, at 6,287 Arapahoe Avenue, will continue to serve students, faculty, and staff at its physical location. The shared email indicated that the sale was part of Naropa’s strategy to ensure its long-term financial health and sustainability.
“With over 40 per cent of students (and a significant portion of staff and faculty) now operating primarily in hybrid and virtual spaces, we are redefining the very essence of what it means to be a community,” the university’s email noted. This shift reflects a broader trend in higher education, in which institutions are increasingly moving toward hybrid and online learning models. (Daily Camera)
The Naropa administration described the decision as a significant opportunity for the university’s future: “We truly believe this is a decisive opportunity for Naropa University—one that we approach with both care and excitement, and that will allow us to envision the next 50 years.” (Daily Camera)
In an effort to improve communication, the university plans to hold a series of town hall meetings, the first of which will take place on 11 September.
See more
Naropa University to sell its main Boulder campus (Daily Camera)
Naropa moving out; buyer to be announced in coming weeks (Boulder Weekly)
Poetry at Naropa: The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics (Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library)
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