Iowa Senator Harkin received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the President of Maharishi University of Management, Dr Bevan Morris.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin gives commencement address, receives honorary doctoral degree
by Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa, USA, Achievements
June 2013

On May 25, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin addressed Maharishi University of Management’s 2013 graduating class, praising the University as ”the best holistic approach to education and wellness in life of any university anywhere on the globe.”

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his lifetime of service and compassionate and progressive leadership to Iowa and to the United States. He has served in the Senate since 1985, with ten years of service in the House of Representatives before that. The Senate’s seventh most senior senator overall, he chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

He has been a champion of complementary and alternative medicine, education, and organic agriculture. He introduced legislation to protect citizens with disabilities. He led the way, in 1992, in creating the U.S. Office of Alternative Medicine, which later became the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NCCAM has provided a substantial portion of the $25 million in NIH support given to the University’s Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention over the past 20 years for research on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on heart disease.

In his speech on “Harkin’s 10 Rules of Life,” Senator Harkin encouraged students to be part of something larger than themselves, to express appreciation, to believe in themselves, not to be afraid to make mistakes, and to have fun.

Rule number one: Be a part of something larger than yourself.

A big part of your journey here has been a journey inward, a mastery of your own mind. That journey will continue.

I also encourage you to be ambitious in your journey outward. Get involved in your community. The solutions to many of the problems in our lives are in our own communities and our own hands. Don’t wait for them or someone else to solve them for you, start with your self. 

But it takes a spark plug. Think of the amazing impact that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has had on the world. One person with the vision and the energy and leadership can inspire and move millions of people and change the world. Each of you can be that kind of a spark plug. 

Most of the people that I have known who have been both successful and happy are those who know themselves, who they are. This university has taught you to have the mental strength to transcend the vicissitudes of life and know your self. They have prepared you well for that outward journey. 

Also receiving an honorary doctoral degree was Nat Goldhaber, who, in 1971, conceived the idea of a university based on the Transcendental Meditation program and the Science of Creative Intelligence. He presented the idea to Maharishi, and Maharishi said, “Go do it.” Mr. Goldhaber worked with Dr. Robert Keith Wallace to plan the University and put it on the path to accreditation. He also served as its first executive vice president, from 1972 to 1975. He went on to successful careers in government, high technology, and venture capital. Among other innovations, he developed the first successful peer-to-peer distributed networking system for microcomputers.

“No effort, no idea, no inspiration that I had, ever could possibly come close to the realization of this institution,” Mr. Goldhaber said. The honorary doctorate of education was presented by Dr. John Hagelin, director of the University’s Institute of Science, Technology, and Public Policy and member of the Board of Trustees.

Maharishi University of Management graduated its largest class ever—334 students altogether, with 83 students receiving bachelor’s degrees, 247 receiving master’s degrees, and 4 receiving doctoral degrees. Graduating students represented 54 countries, with 82 US and 64 Ethiopian students leading the way. The largest number of graduates came from the Computer Professionals Masters Program, 152 in all.

The student address was given by Valedictorian Kelly Mae Heroux, who received her B.S. in Sustainable Living. Salutatorian Melodia Morales presented the class gift to the University, a $1,500 donation to help develop the Lotus online job network where MUM alumni can post resumes and find jobs.

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