"Dignity: a Journey in Spiritual Consciousness," a Saturday Public Lecture with Tim Shriver & Margaret Hagood, Saturday, September 26, 2026

Tim will invite us to consider a new reality
around the world, with which we are now living.
We have now come to an era in which contempt
for each other is not something of which
we are ashamed or which we hide;
but rather, we have built it into an entire complex.
It is addictive, polarizing, and normal.

Tim quotes John Gottman, “Contempt is that which is
not only eroding our political discourse and public trust -
but also damaging family and personal relationships.”

There is an alternative:
a culture that makes it normal to treat each other with dignity
even and especially when we disagree.
A “dignity mindset” can enable us to see the dignity in the other,
even as we may oppose the plans or positions of the other.
Instead of judging others as worthy or unworthy,
we become able to see others with love.
And instead of attacking people, we can focus
on listening, curiosity, humility, and dignity
as change strategies all unto themselves.

Tim will share with us The Dignity Index,
an instrument that reveals patterns of dignity and contempt
within and between us, and more importantly,
reveals strategies for change.

Finally, he will emphasize how important meditation is
in finding our own center, our own dignity.
Meditation is the practice
where we find the spiritual strength
to treat people with dignity when we disagree.

If you could help ease the divisions in America, would you do it? Dignity.us

Keynote Speaker: Tim Shriver - CEO & Founder,
Co-creator of the Dignity Index

Tim Shriver is married, a father of 5, the Chairman of Special Olympics International, co-creator of the Dignity Index, and founder and CEO of UNITE. Tim began his career as an educator and co-founded and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). He earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University, a Master's degree from Catholic University, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Connecticut. He has produced 6 films, is the author of the NYT bestseller Fully Alive – Discovering What Matters Most, and co-editor of The Call to Unite: Voices of Hope and Awakening.

Conversationalist: Margaret Hagood

Margaret Carmody Hagood has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in elementary and middle grade literacies, focusing on culturally relevant and responsive literacy instruction inclusive of digital literacies and pop culture. Her courses are built around creating a context of mindfulness inspired by Eastern philosophies and attentive to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. She researches teachers' and students' connections between their identities and developing literacies to find meaning for their own lives. She situates her work using integral theory, poststructuralism, mindfulness, and Buddhist philosophy. She is currently serving as the Director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). Margaret is also a graduate of the Richard Rohr Living School.