Maharishi International University Athletics is gaining momentum on multiple fronts, highlighted by its recent acceptance into the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), a strong start for the men’s soccer program, and the addition of an experienced basketball recruiter and an assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach.
The USCAA announcement marks a significant step forward for MIU’s rapidly growing athletics department. Membership gives Pioneer student-athletes the opportunity to compete for national championships while providing a competitive framework as the university continues building toward future NAIA membership. The university will compete in men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, tennis, cross country, and esports under the USCAA banner.
Men’s soccer makes strong early statement
That momentum has already been evident on the soccer field.
The strongest indication of the program’s potential came in what MIU Trustee Michael Busch described as “a David versus Goliath event” — a preseason match against William Penn University, a perennial NAIA powerhouse that has reached the national quarterfinals and finals in recent years. MIU earned a draw despite facing one of the strongest programs in the region.
The team opened its inaugural USCAA season with a 4-2 victory over North Iowa Area Community College. After building a 2-0 lead behind two goals from Estevao Goncalves, the Pioneers weathered a second-half comeback before securing the win with late goals from Angel Delgado and Francesco Puch. Goncalves finished with two goals and two assists.
MIU followed that performance with a 1-1 road draw against the University of St. Francis. Goncalves again scored for the Pioneers, netting the equalizer in the first half. Goalkeeper Dylan Stott helped preserve the tie with a series of key saves, including three consecutive stops during a late St. Francis attack. Associate Head Coach Caio Pereira praised his team’s resilience in a demanding road contest.
The Pioneers then faced a setback in a 7-1 loss to Briar Cliff University. Martim Soares scored MIU’s lone goal. Pereira called it a difficult match but said the team intends to learn from the experience and continue improving.
“This team reflects the global character of MIU. Students from many cultures have come together around a shared commitment to education, athletics, and personal development.”
— Michael Busch, MIU Trustee
“This team reflects the global character of MIU,” Busch said. “Students from many cultures have come together around a shared commitment to education, athletics, and personal development.”
The roster includes players from Peru, Chile, Brazil, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and communities across the United States. Busch said the athletics programs are also helping strengthen ties between the university and the Fairfield community.
Building for the future on and off the field
Approximately 90 new students have joined MIU through athletics, bringing added energy to campus life and broadening engagement opportunities both on campus and in the local community.
MIU has also continued building its basketball program, recently hiring Walter Johnson as men’s basketball recruiting coordinator. Johnson brings experience as both a professional player and coach and has helped several programs achieve record-setting success. Most recently, he was part of coaching staffs at East-West University and John Melvin University during historically successful seasons for both programs.
“MIU’s emphasis on Consciousness-Based education and student well-being offers a unique setting where athletes can reach their full potential as competitors and as individuals,” Johnson said.
MIU has also strengthened its tennis program with the hiring of Lawrence Eyre as assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach. A graduate of Yale University and a 30-year USPTA Elite Professional, Eyre brings more than three decades of coaching experience at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. His collegiate coaching background includes positions at Grinnell College and Knox College, and he has also served as an Intercollegiate Tennis Association umpire in the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences.
Eyre, who was named National High School Coach of the Year during his time at Maharishi School, is known for developing successful players and programs while emphasizing sportsmanship and personal growth. “Maharishi Pioneers invest in rest for tennis success,” Eyre said. “Twice daily TM builds a physiological foundation for peak performance. When athletes live in the Zone, they play in the Zone.” His addition further reflects MIU’s ongoing investment in experienced coaches as its athletics programs continue to expand.
As MIU Athletics enters its first year in the USCAA, the new affiliation, growing enrollment, expanding programs, and early competitive success show the department’s long-term vision taking shape, especially in allowing student-athletes to compete on a national stage while pursuing MIU’s distinctive educational experience.
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Information provided by Maria Eduarda Rodrigues da Silva, sports editor for MIU News and the Sports Information and Creative Director for the MIU Athletics Department.
A new documentary by MIU professor and filmmaker Stuart Tanner is drawing international attention for its exploration of Mexico’s struggle to protect native corn varieties, biodiversity, and food sovereignty in the face of pressure to adopt genetically modified crops and industrial agricultural practices.
“This documentary is about more than agriculture — it is about identity, resistance, and the fundamental right to shape our own future.”
— Stuart Tanner
Seeds of Sovereignty, a 50-minute documentary and a standout success on the international film festival circuit, examines the conflict between Mexico and the United States over genetically modified corn and the future of traditional agriculture.
Seeds of Sovereignty examines Mexico’s battle to preserve its native corn and farming traditions in the face of GMO crops and corporate agriculture. The documentary highlights threats to biodiversity, food sovereignty, and cultural identity while making the case that decisions made in Mexico today could affect the future of food globally.
Through interviews with farmers, scientists, activists, and community leaders, the film highlights efforts to preserve native maize varieties that have been cultivated for thousands of years.
“Mexico is at a pivotal moment, fighting to protect its native seeds, land, and people from the threat of genetically modified crops and harmful agrochemicals,” Tanner writes in his director’s statement. “This documentary is about more than agriculture — it is about identity, resistance, and the fundamental right to shape our own future.”
Tanner, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist, has produced films for major broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, Discovery, Frontline PBS, and ITV. His work has taken him to more than 20 countries and earned numerous international awards. At MIU he is an assistant professor of Cinematic Arts & New Media.
Cody Olivas, assistant professor of Cinematic Arts & New Media at MIU, was the director of photography, and Amine Kouider, chair of the Cinematic Arts and New Media department, served as sound director.
Concerns about industrial agriculture
According to Tanner, the film grew out of concerns about the environmental and social consequences of industrial agriculture.
“I became increasingly troubled by the question of whether this model of agriculture is really serving the people who live alongside it, or whether it primarily serves large corporations that rarely carry the human and environmental costs of the system they profit from,” he wrote in an article discussing the project.
The documentary argues that the battle over corn in Mexico extends beyond agricultural policy. Native maize is deeply embedded in Mexican culture, cuisine, and identity, making efforts to preserve traditional seed varieties matters of cultural and ecological significance.
Tanner hopes the film will encourage audiences to consider broader questions about food systems and sustainability.
“As a filmmaker, my goal is to bring audiences into this fight, not just to inform, but to inspire action,” he writes. “The battle to protect native seeds in Mexico is part of a larger fight for food sovereignty worldwide. Who controls the food we eat? What are the long-term consequences of prioritizing profit over people and the planet?”
“Food sovereignty is easy to read about or discuss in the abstract,” Olivas says. “It becomes something else entirely when you’re looking out over a milpa or sitting with a family whose seed has been selected by hand for nine thousand years and asking them what contamination would actually cost.”
“We want the world to understand the challenges Mexico faces in protecting a food and agricultural system that is thousands of years old,” says Randall Tolpinrud, founder of the Pax Natura Foundation, which funded the project. “That system is under pressure from multinational corporations seeking to reshape the country’s food production and distribution in ways that serve corporate interests, backed largely by organizations and governments in the United States and Europe. Our goal is to document the people resisting those efforts.”
A standout success on the international film festival circuit
The film has resonated strongly with festival audiences. Pax Natura reports that Seeds of Sovereignty has been selected by 77 film festivals in 35 countries and has received 20 awards and honors. These include awards for Best Documentary, Best Environmental Documentary, Best Director, Best Television Documentary, Best Feature Documentary, and Best Half-Length Film.
Among the many festivals recognizing the documentary are the Madrid Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival, the Arizona International Film Festival, the Indie Vegas Film Festival, the Wallachia Film Festival, the Liber Film Festival, the Synergy Film Festival, and the World Culture Film Festival in Los Angeles.
The Arizona International Film Festival awarded the film a Special Jury Award for Activist Filmmaking, citing its exploration of Mexico’s efforts to defend biodiversity, food sovereignty, and cultural heritage. The film won the Best Documentary Award four other film festivals and the Best Environmental Documentary at two more.
Festival organizers and reviewers have praised the documentary’s treatment of a complex global issue. The Auguri Film Festival in Italy described Seeds of Sovereignty as “a powerful and thought-provoking documentary that truly captures the urgency of a global issue, the fight for biodiversity and food sovereignty.”
“This is more than a film. It is a call to defend small-scale, sustainable farming, farming that nourishes people, preserves the environment, and promotes human health.”
— Stuart Tanner
The Organic & Non-GMO Report called the film an exploration of “Mexico’s fight to protect its agricultural heritage,” noting its focus on legal and grassroots efforts to preserve native corn varieties and indigenous farming traditions.
As the documentary continues its international festival run, Tanner believes the issues it raises extend far beyond Mexico.
“This is more than a film,” he writes. “It is a call to defend small-scale, sustainable farming, farming that nourishes people, preserves the environment, and promotes human health.”
Seeds of Sovereignty is an independent production of Oak Alley Productions.
Interested in documentary filmmaking?
Stuart Tanner and Amine Kouider have just launched an MFA in Documentary Filmmaking & Social Transformation.
At an international United Nations academic forum in Lisbon, Portugal, the discussion went far beyond heart disease. The larger question was how individuals, communities, and nations can become more resilient in the face of growing environmental, psychological, and social stress.
Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, Distinguished Professor of Integrative Medicine and Health and Director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at MIU, addressed that challenge during the 39th Annual Meeting of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS), held July 1–3 at NOVA University Lisbon.
Participating remotely, he spoke to scholars, policy experts, and representatives of international organizations gathered to discuss sustainable development, public health, climate change, conflict prevention, and other global challenges.
Dr. Schneider’s presentation, Environmental Stress, Cardiovascular Risk, and Human Resilience: Evidence-Based Pathways for Policy and Practice, co-authored with Charlotta Bech, MD, adjunct MIU faculty in physiology, examined how environmental and psychosocial stress contribute to cardiovascular disease, the world’s leading cause of death. Click here to see the presentation.
How human beings can become more resilient
He explained that air pollution, climate change, crowded urban settings, economic hardship, and psychological stress often occur together, placing a cumulative burden on the cardiovascular system and increasing the risk of hypertension, heart attack, stroke, and premature death.
“This is more than cardiovascular research. It is about how human beings and societies can become more resilient.”
— Dr. Robert Schneider
“This is more than cardiovascular research,” Dr. Schneider said. “It is about how human beings and societies can become more resilient in the face of environmental, psychological, and social stress, and how science-based approaches to reducing stress may contribute not only to better health, but also to a more peaceful world.”
Among those approaches, Dr. Schneider highlighted Transcendental Meditation. Research has linked the technique to lower blood pressure and, in NIH-funded clinical trials, a significantly lower risk of major cardiovascular events, including heart attack, stroke, and death.
These findings support the growing view that stress reduction should be considered an integral part of cardiovascular prevention. Dr. Schneider and colleagues recently advanced that position in a commentary published in Nature Reviews Cardiology.
Toward social resilience and peace
The presentation also explored the potential of meditation-based approaches to strengthen social resilience and support peace-building efforts. Dr. Schneider encouraged United Nations policymakers and ACUNS participants to integrate health, environmental policy, sustainable urban development, and evidence-based stress reduction within a unified prevention framework.
The ACUNS meeting provided an international platform for MIU research linking personal health, environmental sustainability, collective well-being, and peace. Dr. Schneider’s presentation highlighted how MIU’s consciousness-based approach may contribute to addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Banner photo from The Soul of the Matter.
Last February, MIU News shared the story of Fairfield’s recognition as one of the Intelligent Community Forum’s (ICF) Top 7 Intelligent Communities of 2025. It marked an important milestone for a small Iowa community recognized alongside metropolitan regions with populations many times its size.
This June, the journey continued.
I was part of the Fairfield delegation that traveled to the Limburg Province of the Netherlands to learn from communities that have spent decades building cultures of innovation, collaboration, and long-term resilience.
The team representing Fairfield included Fairfield City Councilor Bob Ferguson, community resilience leader Margaret Dwyer, Ideal Energy Founder and CEO Troy Van Beek, and me, the Director of Continuous Improvement at MIU.
We joined civic leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, planners, and economic development professionals from North America, Europe, and Asia for the ICF Top7 Conference and an extended VIP delegation through Brightlands-Limburg and Brainport Eindhoven, two internationally recognized innovation ecosystems.
A rich learning experience
During our week in the Netherlands, we visited research campuses, advanced manufacturing facilities, startup incubators, government offices, and the Einstein Telescope Pathfinder, a groundbreaking scientific initiative being developed by partners in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Along with the other delegates, we also explored how the region has organized four specialized innovation campuses around health, sustainable materials, digital services, and agriculture, creating what local leaders describe as an “ecosystem of ecosystems.”
We found that the communities attracting international attention are not defined by a technology, industry, or economic development strategy. Instead, they’ve built strong relationships among universities, businesses, government, and residents. Innovation is woven into their community culture.
“Cathedral planning” and “moonshot” ambitions.
Many presenters from successful communities spoke about “cathedral planning” — making decisions that may not fully bear fruit for decades but create lasting benefits for future generations. These communities cultivated a willingness to experiment, accept calculated risks, and move promising ideas into action.
They also challenged communities to think beyond incremental improvements and pursue ambitious “moonshot” ideas that inspire collaboration across sectors.
For Marg, whose work spans environmental stewardship, civic engagement, and community resilience, this long-term, moonshot thinking was one of her strongest impressions — and one example really stood out.
“To me, that’s the peak of human evolution and consciousness — cooperation for mutual success. We must figure out how to reproduce that here!”
— Marg Dwyer
“In Maastricht, we saw an amazing demonstration of collaboration regarding Europe’s ‘moonshot,’ the Einstein Telescope,” Marg said. “The science was mind-blowing, but the most important thing was that multiple industries, universities, and levels of various nations’ governments are working together to ensure their mutual future resilience. They’re sharing the massive costs connected with the Einstein Telescope and have pledged that all will share any scientific or manufacturing breakthroughs that result. To me, that’s the peak of human evolution and consciousness — cooperation for mutual success. We must figure out how to reproduce that here!”
Collaboration is key
“Our most important takeaway was that building intelligent communities depends far more on collaboration than technology,” Fergusson said.
We learned that breakthrough innovations rarely emerge in isolation. They grow from ecosystems where education, industry, government, and community organizations continuously invest in one another.
Troy looked at this from a Fairfield entrepreneur’s perspective.
“Participating in this delegation helped me understand an actionable and exciting community formula for success: the quadruple helix, which focuses on collaboration among people, government, universities, and businesses,” Van Beek said. “Fairfield is uniquely positioned to benefit from this model. Innovation was at the core of Brightlands’ success, and by using this formula, I expect Fairfield to become a valuable epicenter of innovation for our community and beyond.”
An important issue here is retaining young people. Successful regions have moved beyond trying to attract talent to creating communities where talented young people want to stay.
And this starts with the youth, we found. We encountered examples of students still in school working alongside local governments, businesses, and researchers to solve real-world challenges.
We saw that meaningful work, opportunities to contribute, and a shared sense of purpose can be just as important as economic incentives, and hope itself can become an economic engine when communities give people a compelling vision for the future.
The role of universities
We also saw how universities can play a powerful role in regional development.
Across Brightlands and Brainport, universities functioned not only as educational institutions but also as research partners, talent pipelines, conveners, and catalysts for entrepreneurship. Students, faculty, government leaders, and industry representatives worked together to address practical challenges with direct benefits for their communities.
And we realized again how important it is for MIU to engage with the larger Fairfield community. Through education, workforce development, research, and community partnerships, MIU contributes to Fairfield’s long-term vitality while helping connect organizations around shared opportunities. And we can do more.
Returning to Fairfield, going forward
For Fairfield, Bob outlined opportunities to build stronger connections among organizations working in manufacturing, agriculture, arts and culture, financial services, and energy — helping existing organizations share knowledge, align around common goals, and strengthen Fairfield’s innovation ecosystem.
“We’ve now spent several years participating in the Intelligent Community Forum, first earning recognition as a Smart21 Community and later being named one of the Top 7 Intelligent Communities in the world,” Bob said. “This inspires us to continue learning from some of the world’s best examples of innovation, cooperation, and long-term thinking — not to replicate another community’s model but to build on Fairfield’s own strengths.”
The next ICF Global Summit takes place this October, when it convenes its annual Summit in Columbus, Ohio. Fairfield will be sending a delegation.
Interested in becoming involved?
We encourage interested Fairfield community members to explore the ICF Community Accelerator, a free online learning program made possible by local donor support. Consider nominating yourself or others for future Fairfield delegations. To access the course, you have to register on this special Fairfield community link that will open all the courses at no cost.
As chronic diseases continue to drive health care costs and reduce quality of life across the United States, Maharishi International University and the University of Iowa are exploring how prevention science, integrative medicine, and public health can work together to improve community health.
Researchers have identified many effective ways to prevent chronic disease. The challenge now is translating that knowledge into practical, scalable approaches that help people make healthier choices in everyday life.
That challenge was the focus of a recent invited Spotlight Session at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, where MIU’s Dr. Robert Schneider presented “Integrative Prevention and Public Health: A Practice-Based Collaboration Model.”
The invitation followed an earlier MIU visit by leaders from the University of Iowa College of Public Health and Carver College of Medicine, making the Spotlight Session part of a growing exchange between the two institutions.
The presentation highlighted areas of shared interest between MIU’s work in Consciousness-BasedSM and integrative health and the University of Iowa’s strengths in public health research, education, implementation, and community engagement. Leaders from both institutions discussed opportunities for student projects, faculty collaboration, community health initiatives, and pilot research studies.
Toward whole-person, integrative care
Dr. Schneider, Distinguished Professor of Integrative Medicine and Health and Director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention, described one of the central challenges in modern prevention: helping proven approaches reach people in practical, consistent, and scalable ways.
“Public health has made tremendous progress in identifying the major drivers of chronic disease,” Schneider said. “The next frontier is implementation — creating practical, accessible systems that help people translate prevention science into healthier daily life. This is where whole-person, integrative care can make an important contribution.”
Drawing on decades of NIH-supported research in cardiovascular prevention, health equity, stress reduction, and lifestyle medicine, Dr. Schneider introduced Total Health Centers, LLC, an Iowa-based model for whole-person prevention that combines modern medicine with evidence-based lifestyle, behavioral, and integrative approaches.
Schneider’s presentation focused on major chronic health challenges, including hypertension, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, mental health conditions, dementia risk, and healthy aging. Its distinguishing feature is a whole-person framework that addresses not only biological risk factors but also behavior, stress, mental well-being, social context, and long-term resilience.
The framework reflects ideas described in a recent Heart and Mind editorial by Schneider, Fred Travis, and MIU President Dr. Tony Nader, which proposed a unified systems medicine perspective linking mind, body, environment, and consciousness in promoting health and resilience.
Peace through health
Schneider argued that prevention can be viewed at the community and societal levels. He discussed the principle of “peace through health,” connecting whole health with individual, community, and societal well-being.
Schneider also discussed research on the Maharishi Effect and the potential role of collective meditation-based practices in reducing social stress and improving community quality of life. The presentation reflected MIU’s long-standing commitment to bringing rigorous science to the study of consciousness, mind-body medicine, Ayurveda, and integrative approaches to health.
Joining prevention science and whole-person health
“Dr. Schneider’s presentation showed how rigorous prevention science and whole-person health can come together in ways that are highly relevant to today’s public health challenges”
— Dr. Robert B. Wallace
“Dr. Schneider’s presentation showed how rigorous prevention science and whole-person health can come together in ways that are highly relevant to today’s public health challenges,” said Dr. Robert Wallace, the co-host for the visit. “It was especially valuable to see how these ideas can be translated into practical models for community benefit.” Wallace is the Irene Ensminger Stecher Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology and Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa.
Dr. Mark VanderWeg, Dr. Schneider’s host, emphasized the importance of implementation and community engagement. “A central question in public health is how evidence-based practices can be developed, evaluated, and delivered in partnership with communities,” he said. “Practice-based models that connect prevention research, behavioral interventions, and real-world delivery systems offer important opportunities for student learning, faculty collaboration, and public health impact.” VanderWeg is Professor and Head of the Department of Community and Behavioral Health at the University of Iowa College of Public Health.
The discussion included possible collaboration pathways between MIU, Total Health Centers, and the University of Iowa College of Public Health, including student practica, capstone and thesis projects, community outreach, faculty collaboration, and pilot studies. The session concluded with a discussion of next steps, including the possibility of an exploratory working group to identify shared priorities.
“This kind of exchange is exactly what is needed to move prevention forward,” Schneider said. “MIU brings a long-standing commitment to the scientific study of consciousness, mind-body medicine, and integrative approaches to health. By working with public health partners, we can explore practical ways to bring these approaches into the broader systems of prevention, research, education, and community service.”
For further information:
Robert Schneider, Frederick Travis, and Tony Nader, “Addressing Clinician Burnout: A Unifying Systems Medicine Model with Meditation as a Heart-Mind Intervention,” Heart and Mind 8:1 (2023).
Robert H. Schneider, Michael C. Dillbeck, Gunvant Yeola, and Tony Nader, “Peace Through Health: Traditional Medicine Meditation in the Prevention of Collective Stress, Violence, and War,” Frontiers in Public Health 12 (2024);12:1380626.
Maharishi International University and Consciousness-BasedSM are protected trademarks and are used in the United States under license or with permission.
On a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon, June 20, MIU conferred degrees on 679 graduates at its 2026 commencement ceremony, with graduating students representing 55 countries. Altogether, MIU awarded 159 bachelor’s degrees, 493 master’s degrees, 26 Masters of Fine Arts degrees, 30 doctoral degrees, and two honorary doctorates.
Click here to see the full commencement ceremony as well as videos of the key speeches.
The ceremony opened with recognition of the broader community behind the graduates’ achievements, appreciating parents, families, and friends — many of whom had traveled long distances, including from outside the United States — as integral to the students’ success.
“I encourage you to stay in touch with joy” — Dr. Pedro Noguera’s commencement address
Dr. Pedro Noguera, Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, delivered a spirited commencement address.
He highlighted the urgency of issues such as climate change, political polarization, and economic inequality — yet he invited graduates to reframe these challenges as “learning challenges.” Then, he said, “The problems become less daunting and
insurmountable. We must simply learn how to address them.”
“I believe education is not only the best tool we have for creating a better future — it may be all we have,” he said. “The human ability to adapt and learn has proven to be our superpower.”
“Unlike humans, AI can’t think outside the box,” he said. “We have the ability to use education, compassion, and our ability to innovate, to imagine new alternatives, to uplift humanity and protect our Mother Earth.”
“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” he said, quoting the Hopi elders’ teaching.
He described how, as a university student, he traveled to war-torn El Salvador to negotiate the release of a political prisoner, a student leader at a university. While waiting in a dark waiting room, he inadvertently walked into one of the prison areas. “I was shocked to see how close I was to the men behind bars, who looked upon me with curiosity.”
He got to talking with one of them, who said, “When I get out, I’m going to celebrate” — and though no music was playing, “he proceeded to show me some impressive dance moves.” And they both laughed.
“I thought, if that man could joke about dancing even while facing the cruelty of imprisonment under a military dictatorship,” Noguera said, “couldn’t I find a way to maintain a sense of joy?”
“Graduates,” he then said, “I encourage you to stay in touch with joy, to maintain a lightness of spirit, a smile on your face, and even a little dance in your step, so that you can counter the forces of negativity and doom with compassion, kindness, and love.”
He quoted the Sufi poet Rumi, “Love is the bridge between you and everything” — then said to the graduates: “Be the bridge.”
“The Maharishi Effect is real,” he said. “We can change the world by changing ourselves, and small actions do add up and have effects that we may not perceive at the moment, but nonetheless ripple into the universe. You have the power to be a force of good in the world, and the world needs that now more than ever.”
“Class of 2026,” he concluded, “I hope you do well, I hope you do good, and I hope you have some fun while you do both. All the best.”
President Nader honors Dr. Noguera
“You have given us more than a commencement address,” President Nader said, reflecting on Noguera’s address. “You have given us a benediction.”
Nader underscored three key ideas from Noguera’s speech: the urgency of personal responsibility, the sustaining power of joy and love even in adversity, and the metaphor of being a bridge between seemingly separate worlds. “There are moments,” he said, “when the line from the Hopi elders, ‘We are the ones we have been waiting for,’ ceases to be inspirational and becomes simply true. This is one of them.”
He also reflected on the deeper significance of the “be the bridge” metaphor. “That, in three words, is the entire mission of this university,” he said. “We have spent decades preparing young people to be exactly that. Bridges between cultures, between disciplines, between the inner life and the outer work. You have given them a single sentence to carry with them. They will carry it.”
MIU President Dr. Tony Nader presented Dr. Noguera with the degree of Doctor of Education honoris causa, honoring his lifetime of service to humanity through education.
Professor Amine Kouider, representing the Board of Trustees, then presented a second honory degree, a Doctor of Fine Arts honoris causa, to MIU graduate and Fairfield resident Dick DeAngeles, for his lifelong service to Fairfield and MIU and especially for his award-winning eight-part History of Fairfield video documentary series.
“MIU was never meant to be ordinary” — valedictorian address
Valedictorian Polo Altinsky-Ross described MIU as consistently exploring ideas ahead of their time. Long before concepts such as wellness, sustainability, and human-centered development became mainstream, he noted, they were already central to the MIU’s approach.
“MIU is not easy to explain,” he said, “because it was never meant to be ordinary.” MIU challenges conventional assumptions about higher education by combining academic rigor with daily practices aimed at developing consciousness.
He argued that MIU’s focus on human development is becoming increasingly relevant. “A more advanced society is not just one with better machines,” he said, “but one with better people — clearer, more balanced, more compassionate.”
“Established in Being, perform action” — salutatorian address
Salutatorian Chirl Dawn Saylor offered a more personal reflection, describing her educational experience as transformative on multiple levels. Drawing on the Sanskrit phrase Yogastha Kuru Karmani — “established in Being, perform action” — she emphasized the distinction between intellectual understanding and lived experience.
“There is a difference between knowing something and being it,” she said. For Saylor, MIU’s impact lay not in introducing entirely new concepts but in enabling a deeper integration of ideas she had encountered throughout her life. She described her time at MIU as a process of rebuilding “from the inside out,” affecting her health, awareness, and daily experience.
She challenged the notion that inner growth requires withdrawal from the world, instead highlighting the “householder path” — the possibility of pursuing personal development while remaining fully engaged in everyday life. Her remarks underscored a central theme of the ceremony: that inner development and outward action are mutually supportive.
“Do not underestimate your single life” — President Nader’s charge to the graduates
In his closing charge to the graduates, Nader offered them a single unifying concept: care. He described caring as an expression of consciousness itself. “Caring is what consciousness does when it recognizes itself in another,” he said.
He outlined three practical principles to sustain this orientation: distinguishing between caring and becoming overburdened, clarifying daily priorities by asking what is truly one’s responsibility, and recognizing the far-reaching impact of individual actions. “Do not underestimate your single life,” he told graduates, emphasizing that acts of care ripple outward in ways that may not be immediately visible.
Of special note, 16 of the doctoral students graduated from MIU’s PhD program in China, with five of them traveling from China to participate in the ceremony in person. As their class gift, they pledged $50,000 to help promote MIU in China, specifically by having President Nader’s two books — the New York Times best-selling Consciousness Is All There Is and his new book The Power of Caring — translated, published, and promoted in their country.
Click here to see the ceremony, here for more graduation photos, and here video clips of graduating students.
Photos by Dileep Krishnamoorthy
For two straight years, 2004 and 2005, the Atlantic Ocean battered the Eastern U.S. coast with seven major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher) — the most in any two years since 1851, when reliable data-keeping started.
Pictured above: A NOAA satellite view of a massive Hurricane Erin churning off the U.S. East Coast on Aug. 20, 2025. Image credit: NOAA Satellites
It was also the only time that five or more hurricanes of any strength made U.S. landfall in consecutive years. In 2005 alone, four major hurricanes struck — the highest single-season total on record.
At the beginning of 2006, meteorologists naturally predicted another severe hurricane season.
But that year, no hurricanes, major or minor, struck the U.S. — the only year since 1851 that the number of major hurricanes hitting the U.S. dropped from four to zero.
“It was almost like we had a hurricane repellent”
This was no one-year wonder. No major hurricanes struck the U.S. for the next nine years.
One of those years, 2010, was a particular standout. Twelve hurricanes spun out of the Atlantic basin — five of them major — but none landed. Low-pressure systems kept the storms at sea. Nothing like this had been seen before.
“This was a strange, strange season,” one meteorologist said in a story in National Geographic. “It was almost like we had a hurricane repellent over the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast. The storms were out there, but they just didn’t approach the U.S.” (See map below)
Over the nine years from 2006 to 2014, eight minor hurricanes — but no major hurricanes — made landfall in the U.S.
Weather experts describe that nine-year period, 2006–2014, as a hurricane drought — a historically unprecedented event expected to occur only about once every 177 years.
How to explain this?
Weather scientists have been at a loss to account for what happened.
But a recently published statistical study, reviewing 171 years of hurricane records, found a striking pattern: the nine‑year reduction in the annual incidence of landfalling hurricanes coincided with large group practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and its advanced programs at MIU in Iowa.
The study was conducted by MIU scientist Dr. Kenneth L. Cavanaugh and Dr. Lee Fergusson, an MIU PhD graduate, professor at Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, and educational researcher at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.
Human activity affects the weather
Scientists have long accepted that human behavior affects weather and climate through physical means. Industrial chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons have altered the ozone layer, and greenhouse gas emissions are widely understood to intensify storms and rainfall.
But the new study addresses a more controversial question: whether human consciousness itself might also play a role.
“We asked whether subtler forms of human behavior — particularly collective meditation — could beneficially influence environmental outcomes.”
— Dr. Ken Cavanaugh
“Modern science already recognizes that human activity shapes weather,” Dr. Cavanaugh points out. “We asked whether subtler forms of human behavior — particularly collective meditation — could beneficially influence environmental outcomes.”
Other researchers have explored this idea. For example, in a study entitled “Wishing for Good Weather: A Natural Experiment in Group Consciousness,” Princeton University’s Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) lab analyzed 36 years of weather data to compare rainfall in Princeton with rainfall in nearby communities — and found that there was significantly less rain, and less often, in Princeton on days with major outdoor activities, such as graduation, suggesting a possible association between group expectations and weather outcomes.
A prospective demonstration project
A large group began practicing Transcendental Meditation and its advanced techniques daily at MIU in 2006, following the devastating 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. One purpose of this prospective demonstration project was to reduce the frequency and intensity of hurricanes striking the continental United States.
The group grew to roughly 1,700 participants — the theoretical threshold the researchers say is needed to influence national trends — and remained in place for the next nine years.
Using interrupted time‑series analysis, the study found that, controlling for other variables, the average number of U.S. landfalling hurricanes dropped sharply during the 2006–2014 period, falling to about 0.7 per year compared with a long‑term baseline of roughly 1.7. This is a reduction of 57.7% from the pre-demonstration period, 1851–2005.
“When we controlled for conventional predictors like storm energy and total Atlantic activity, the decline remained highly significant.”
— Dr. Lee Fergusson
“When we controlled for conventional predictors like storm energy and total Atlantic activity, the decline remained highly significant,” Dr. Fergusson said. “The timing aligns closely with the period of sustained group practice.”
According to Dr. Cavanaugh, the probability is less than 1 in 100 million that these results would be observed if the true effect of the meditation group were actually zero.
The experiment ends — and the major hurricanes return
Notably, after the group program ended in 2015, the pattern reversed — hurricane landfalls and damages increased again, rising 51.2% relative to the demonstration period.
This included the catastrophic 2017 season, when the U.S. was struck by a succession of devastating storms — Harvey, Irma, and Maria — that caused widespread destruction across Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. The season was one of the costliest on record, with damages exceeding $265 billion.
Cavanaugh and Fergusson’s analysis builds on Cavanaugh’s earlier unpublished work. In a 2010 pilot study, he examined NOAA hurricane data from 1851–2010 using similar statistical methods. He found that during the early years of the demonstration period, the number of hurricanes striking the U.S. dropped significantly, with predicted counts falling to more than 60 percent below the historical baseline, after accounting for overall Atlantic storm activity.
Cavanaugh and Fergusson’s study also builds on decades of research into the Maharishi Effect, which has linked large group practice of Transcendental Meditation and the TM‑Sidhi programs with reductions in crime, accidents, and other social indicators. This new analysis extends that idea to the natural environment.
Economic impact: hundreds of billions
In a parallel report, Dr. Howard Settle, CPA, who worked with Maharishi to establish this demonstration project, found a substantial reduction in financial damages associated with this hiatus in landfalling hurricanes.
Analyzing NOAA and federal data, Dr. Settle found that hurricane damage averaged just $18.9 billion per year during the 2006–2014 period — less than half the pre‑2006 average and far below the $77.1 billion annual average seen after 2015.
By comparison, the study estimates that the “quiet” years produced $240 billion in avoided losses, while a return to higher storm activity after 2015 resulted in more than $500 billion in additional costs relative to that benchmark.
“These were not just statistical differences — they translated into real economic relief.”
— Dr. Howard Settle
“These were not just statistical differences — they translated into real economic relief,” Settle said. “Insurance markets stabilized, rebuilding could proceed uninterrupted, and communities had time to recover.”
Competing explanations
Mainstream meteorology has struggled to fully explain the drought. Standard factors such as El Niño cycles, Atlantic temperature patterns, and storm intensity do not account for the sharp drop in U.S. landfalls during those years, according to the study.
Lacking a persuasive explanation from conventional atmospheric science, some prominent hurricane experts simply attribute the drought to “luck.”
For example, two leading experts pointed out that this long stretch without major U.S. hurricanes is surprising. During many of those years, there were still lots of storms, including strong ones, and several hit the Caribbean. In other words, hurricane activity was high — but the U.S. was largely spared. They suggested that current weather science doesn’t fully explain this pattern, and that it would take new ideas to understand how storms could stay active while mostly missing the U.S. but damaging nearby regions.
A broader hypothesis
Cavanaugh and Fergusson acknowledge that the findings are consistent with — but do not prove — causation. But they are consistent with predictions of the Maharishi Effect theory.
This type of study is known as a quasi-experiment. In such studies, researchers introduce an intervention or program but do not randomly assign participants — in contrast to natural experiments, where they retrospectively analyze data on events that unfolded without deliberate intervention. Because the intervention is planned, quasi-experiments often allow researchers to predict outcomes in advance and then test whether those predictions are borne out.
At the core of this research is a broader theoretical framework drawn from Vedic tradition, which proposes that individual and collective consciousness are interconnected with the natural environment. In that model, large‑scale stress in society can foster imbalance in nature, while coherence — enhanced through practices such as meditation — can neutralize stress and promote stability.
“We are not claiming that consciousness directly ‘controls’ the weather,” they say. “But the data are consistent with the hypothesis that reducing collective stress may influence how natural systems behave.”
“This hypothesis challenges conventional thinking,” Cavanaugh said. “But history shows that science advances by investigating anomalies, not ignoring them.”
Given these results, Cavanaugh and Fergusson urge public and private organizations to support replicating this evidence-based approach to mitigating disasters.
For further information
Click here to read the study, “Consciousness and the Environment: Maharishi Technologies of Consciousness and the Incidence of U.S. Landfalling Hurricanes, 1851–2021,” published last December in the Journal of Scientific Exploration.
Click here to read Dr. Howard Settle’s “US Hurricane Damage Analysis 1997–2023.”
A team of medical scientists from MIU’s Institute for Natual Medicine and Prevention has published two major new peer-reviewed scientific papers on Maharishi Amrit Kalash (MAK), an Ayurvedic herbal formulation traditionally used to support health, resilience, and healthy aging.
The publications represent a milestone in the scientific study of Maharishi Ayurveda and cardiovascular disease, combining modern clinical research with traditional Ayurvedic knowledge.
The research team included MIU faculty Dr. John Salerno, Dr. Robert Schneider, Dr. Sanford Nidich, and Dr. Maxwell Rainforth, along with collaborators from Howard University Hospital Heart Center in Washington, DC, and Maharishi Ayurveda research groups in India and Europe. Dr. Carolyn Gaylord King and Dr. Charles Alexander of MIU contributed to the overall project’s direction.
Clinical trial highlights potential cardiovascular benefits of Ayurvedic formula
The first article, published in the international journal Medicina, reported results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating Maharishi Amrit Kalash in older adults with cardiovascular disease or high cardiovascular risk.
The study found that participants taking Maharishi Amrit Kalash demonstrated significant improvement in vascular smooth muscle function, an important marker related to vascular aging and cardiovascular health. Researchers noted that the findings suggest possible beneficial effects on biological pathways involved in vascular aging.
The clinical trial was conducted in collaboration with Howard University and reflected years of work integrating modern cardiovascular science with traditional systems of natural medicine.
“These publications help advance the rigorous scientific evaluation of traditional Ayurvedic approaches within modern medicine.”
— Dr. Robert Schneider
“Ayurveda has long emphasized prevention, balance, and healthy aging,” said Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, and senior author of the study. “These publications help advance the rigorous scientific evaluation of traditional Ayurvedic approaches within modern medicine.” Schneider is Distinguished Professor of Integrative Medicine and Health at MIU and Director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention.
The study was funded by a center grant from the National Institutes of Health-National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health to MIU’s Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention.
Comprehensive study highlights antioxidant and cardioprotective effects
The second article, published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, was a scoping review of experimental and clinical studies on Maharishi Amrit Kalash and cardiovascular disease (a scoping review maps and summarizes the existing research on a topic to show what evidence is available and where further study is needed).
The review summarized evidence suggesting antioxidant, anti-atherogenic, and cardioprotective effects of the formulation, including studies on oxidative stress, LDL oxidation, vascular function, angina symptoms, and atherosclerosis.
The authors noted that Maharishi Amrit Kalash is based on the classical Ayurvedic concept of rasayana — therapies traditionally used to promote longevity, vitality, and resistance to disease. The formulation was developed from the traditional preparation known as Brahma Rasayana.
Together, the two reports reflect MIU’s longstanding leadership in integrative medicine, consciousness-based health research, and the scientific study of Maharishi Ayurveda.
The publications also highlight the growing international collaboration among researchers in the United States, India, and Europe working to investigate traditional systems of medicine using contemporary scientific methods.
Click here to read the first study, John W. Salerno, Shichen Xu, Maxwell Rainforth, Sanford I. Nidich, and Robert H. Schneider, “A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of an Ayurvedic Herbal Formulation and Vitamin C/E on Vascular Function in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease,” Medicina 62, no. 5 (2026): 972.
Click here to read the second study, “Radha Singh, Rini Vohra, Richa Shrivastava, and Robert H. Schneider, “Cardioprotective Potential of Maharishi Amrit Kalash: A Scoping Review of Evidence from Experimental and Clinical Studies,” Frontiers in Pharmacology 17 (May 13, 2026).
MIU’S emerging athletics program is vaulting forward. Enrollment is growing. New coaches have signed on. MIU teams have enjoyed success across multiple sports. National visibility is on the rise. And the program is laying the groundwork for joining the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
MIU Athletics is positioning itself as a distinctive model in collegiate sports — promoting peak performance through the inner development approach of Consciousness-Based Sports.
Strong first-year growth and impact
In its inaugural year, MIU Athletics enrolled more than 25 student-athletes — 19.5 full-time equivalents — accounting for a significant share of campus growth.
Notably, 13 of the university’s 36 new on-campus undergraduates in Fall 2025 came through athletics, representing roughly 36 percent of new residential enrollment. That proportion held steady into the spring term, highlighting athletics as a key driver of campus expansion.
Financially, the program is outperforming expectations on a per-student basis. Athletics students generate approximately $16,000 in net tuition revenue per FTE — about $1,000 above the average on-campus undergraduate.
This reflects the program’s structured use of merit-based scholarships: Non-athletes receive need-based aid, while athletes receive merit scholarships based on cultural fit with the university, academics, and athletic performance.
Academically, recruited athletes posted a 3.12 average GPA, surpassing the NAIA Scholar Team benchmark — something only about half of NAIA programs nationwide achieve. Four student-athletes individually qualified for the NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete Award.
All athletes, coaches, and staff have learned the TM technique, and four of them are taking the advanced TM-Sidhi program training this summer.
The athletics program has also demonstrated early marketing traction, generating more than 200,000 organic social media impressions per month without paid promotion.
“I’m so proud of how athletics fulfills one of MIU’s key strategic goals — growing our campus enrollment.”
— Owen Blake
“We’re excited about this growth,” said Owen Blake, Associate Athletic Director. “I’m so proud of how athletics fulfills one of MIU’s key strategic goals — growing our campus enrollment.” Blake is also an assistant professor of Maharishi Vedic Science and a Faculty Fellow in the Dr. Tony Nader Institute.
Soccer: Building a competitive foundation
Soccer is emerging as a cornerstone of MIU’s athletics strategy. Rafael Muniz, newly hired as head coach of women’s soccer, brings extensive experience in collegiate coaching and program development.
Muniz previously helped build Wiley University’s men’s and women’s programs into conference champions and became the program’s all-time winningest coach. His international recruiting network, particularly in Brazil and Latin America, should strengthen MIU’s talent pipeline.
“The opportunity to build a strong soccer program from the ground up is something that motivates me greatly,” Muniz said.
Both men’s and women’s soccer will play a central role in MIU’s transition to varsity competition.
Tennis: Leadership and program development
MIU is also launching men’s and women’s tennis under head coach Eric Sturgis, a veteran with more than 30 years of coaching experience.
Sturgis brings a long record of player development and collegiate leadership, along with a background in high-level competition and sports management. His role is to establish the program’s culture and competitive foundation as MIU expands its athletics offerings.
“After speaking with Ruben and Owen, I knew MIU was the perfect fit,” said Sturgis. “The opportunity to start a tennis program from the ground up is something that I truly enjoy. The facilities and support for tennis at MIU also made this an easy decision. I am looking forward to having men’s and women’s teams in the fall.”
Esports: Early national success
MIU’s esports program has quickly reached a national stage. In its first year, the League of Legends team posted a 6–1 regular season record and qualified for the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) Division V National Championship.
The team secured victories against well-established programs, including Indiana University, North Dakota State, and Tarleton State, demonstrating its ability to compete with much larger schools.
Program leaders say the success reflects a holistic coaching approach that emphasizes mental clarity, decision-making, and team coordination alongside technical skill. The esports program will continue as part of MIU’s broader athletics portfolio, with room for further growth.
Expansion toward NAIA competition
Looking ahead, MIU is preparing for a full launch into intercollegiate competition within the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the governing body for many smaller four-year colleges. This represents a shift from early-stage program building to fully structured varsity athletics.
The transition includes fielding at least three men’s and three women’s teams, meeting eligibility and compliance standards, and competing in an official conference with access to regional and national championships.
It also requires expanded coaching staffs, fully recruited rosters, scholarship alignment with NAIA guidelines, and the administrative systems needed to sustain varsity competition.
“We’re launching men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s cross country.”
— Owen Blake
“We plan to meet those requirements by the 2026–27 academic year,” Blake said. “We’re launching men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s cross country. Adding cross country is a strategic move — it allows athletes from other sports to participate without needing more coaching staff.”
Full NAIA membership is targeted for Fall 2027, with the coming year serving as a critical buildout phase in which these programs begin operating at a varsity level and prepare for conference play.
MIU has also applied to join the USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association). Recommended by NAIA as a step toward full membership, this will allow MIU to compete for post-season play in national tournaments. The USCAA offers significant scheduling flexibility, allowing MIU considerable freedom in choosing opponents, timing, and travel.
“We project the athletics program to grow to approximately 75 student-athletes this fall, supported by a recruiting pipeline of around 120 applicants,” Blake said. “At that scale, we expect athletics to generate about $1.21 million in net tuition revenue every year.”
Long-term projections estimate more than $13.6 million in net tuition revenue over five years, along with significant increases in residential enrollment that help reduce per-student costs and contribute additional room-and-board revenue.
Table tennis opportunity in development
MIU is also exploring the potential addition of a nationally competitive table tennis program, pending donor support. Athletics leaders are in discussions with a highly accomplished coach who recently won the U.S. professional championship and has led collegiate teams to numerous national titles.
Leaders see the opportunity as both competitively significant and mission-aligned, with the potential to bring national visibility to MIU Athletics.
Nike partnership signals next phase of growth
Capping a year of rapid progress, MIU Athletics has announced a partnership with Nike and BSN Sports, making Nike the official provider of uniforms, apparel, and equipment across all varsity programs.
The agreement establishes a unified look across teams and reinforces the program’s national ambitions. University leaders also see the partnership as reflecting a shared philosophy of performance rooted in inner development.
“MIU Athletics is growing and every decision we make, including this one, is intentional,” said Athletics Director Rubén Sanchez. “Nike carries the pioneer spirit. We are the Pioneers. That alignment is powerful.”
“By combining elite athletic branding with Consciousness-Based training, the Nike partnership creates a unique environment for student-athletes.”
— Romel Bryant
“The partnership complements MIU’s broader educational model,” said men’s basketball head coach Romel Bryant. “By combining elite athletic branding with Consciousness-Based training, the Nike partnership creates a unique environment for student-athletes.”
As MIU Athletics moves toward full NAIA competition, the Nike partnership signals both credibility and momentum—marking the program’s transition from launch phase to sustained growth on a national stage.
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Bhagia Sheri came to MIU from Pakistan in 2022 to pursue a master’s degree in computer science. She received the Outstanding Graduate Award at her 2025 graduation and has been working as a software engineer at Walmart in the United States.
She says that her MIU education transformed her life, leading to significant academic, professional, and personal growth. She believes that Transcendental Meditation®, which she learned when she arrived at MIU, has played a major role in her success.
Q: What stands out to you most about MIU?
Bhagia with her friends at an MIU cultural event
“What I liked most about MIU was the block system, in which I studied one course at a time. This structure allowed me to focus deeply and truly understand each subject instead of studying multiple subjects at the same time. It helped me give my full attention to each course, especially in areas that were new to me, and enabled me to build strong foundational knowledge.
“One of the other aspects that I love about MIU is that learning happens outside the classroom as well. With a diverse campus and students from all around the world, I was able to make lifelong friends, learn a lot about their cultures, and share my own culture with them. I will cherish all the memories I made at MIU.”
Q: How would you describe the quality of instruction from your professors?
“MIU professors are truly exceptional, one of the strongest pillars of the university. They are not only knowledgeable but also incredibly supportive and approachable.
“They genuinely care about students’ success and often go above and beyond to help. Whether it’s answering questions, adapting teaching methods, or providing guidance, they ensure that every student gets the opportunity to grow.
“I always felt encouraged and supported throughout my journey.”
Q: How has TM helped you in your studies and career?
“TM has been one of the most important parts of my journey at MIU. It helped me manage stress, stay focused, and maintain balance.
“TM helped me stay consistent, handle academic pressure, and remain mentally clear while managing multiple responsibilities.”
— Bhagia Sheri
“During my studies, TM helped me stay consistent, handle academic pressure, and remain mentally clear while managing multiple responsibilities such as classes, projects, and applying for a paid practicum. It helped me stay calm and focused even during challenging times.
“Even now in my professional life, TM continues to help me think clearly, make better decisions, and handle stress in a balanced way. In a fast-paced field like technology, having a calm and focused mind is essential for success, and TM plays an important role in maintaining that clarity and balance.”
Q: What encouragement would you give to students worldwide who are considering MIU?
“I recommend MIU and the TM technique, as they can be highly beneficial for those seeking international exposure, career growth, and personal development. MIU is a place for those who want to learn in a stress-free environment and stay balanced.
“MIU provides the right environment and support system that encourages students to take on new challenges.”
— Bhagia Sheri
“Growth happens when you step out of your comfort zone and remain consistent over time. MIU provides the right environment and support system that encourages students to take on new challenges, develop discipline, and steadily build personal and professional skills.”