Sun peeks through the columns of a Jain temple in Ranakpur, India. (Dmitry Rukhlenko/Adobe Stock)
New Endowment to Establish Jain Studies Program at UF
The University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the creation of a new fund that will support the study of Jainism, an ancient religious tradition with roots in India.
Established through a generous $500,000 gift from a group of donors, the Sri Kanjiswami Endowment in Jain Studies will fund graduate students, symposiums, coursework, lectures and other offerings. Jain perspectives on topics such as nonviolence, nature of soul, liberation of self, the nature of knowledge, environmental ethics, and gender will be included in courses, research projects and events that cover South Asian religions. Vasudha Narayanan, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Religion, will administer the endowment.
The fund is named for Jain teacher Kanjiswami, whose philosophy forms the bedrock of a widely followed 20th century Jain movement. Kanjiswami’s teachings, when applicable, will be incorporated into the curriculum, which will also touch on other South Asian religions. Through the Sri Kanjiswami Endowment in Jain Studies, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will foster a deeper scholarly understanding of Jainism’s rich history and continued relevance today.
