Year of Compassion
What is a year of compassion?
Compassion is a practice. A choice. A way of being.
The Year of Compassion is more than a campaign. It is an invitation to explore, embody, and elevate compassion in how we teach, learn, research, collaborate, and lead. Through stories, scholarship, and campus engagement, we highlight how compassion shapes the Emory experience — and how it fuels a more humane, just, and resilient world.
Compassion is the warm-hearted concern that unfolds when we witness the distress of others and feel motivated to relieve it. It is a positive, proactive, and energizing approach. The practice of compassion supports our resiliency and improves our relationships, helping us to flourish in all aspects of our lives.
This effort reflects the College's core values and belief in shared humanity, knowledge in service to the public good, and a commitment to meaningful connection.
Examples of How to Participate
Compassion takes many forms, and it’s embedded in the work of every school and department across Emory. Faculty, staff, and students across disciplines are invited to share programs and projects demonstrating how compassion shapes research, pedagogy, and public engagement in their fields.
- Consider compassion as a theme for a lecture, project, or reading – i.e. literature that highlights the role of empathy in human growth, visual and performance –based expressions of care and community, examinations of the role of interdependence or common humanity in history.
- Investigate how compassion shows up in your discipline through panel discussions, guest speakers, or case studies — i.e. examining ethical issues in anthropology or medicine, or looking at the role of religion, law, or psychology in developing empathic behavior and concern for others.
- Organize a class or community activity with compassion as the theme— an online literary journal, a photography exhibition, a film screening, or a service project.
- Host a cross-disciplinary collaboration that explores compassion from multiple perspectives — for example, a student-led podcast, interdisciplinary research project, or art installation that brings together voices from the humanities, sciences, health care, and the arts to foster deeper understanding and social connection.
Signature Events: Mark Your Calendar
Sept 30 – Oct 1, 2025
The Compassion Shift Launch
Hosted by the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics.
More information is forthcoming
January 2026
Compassion: What Moves You?
Exhibition at the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
More information is forthcoming
July 6, 2025
14th Dalai Lama’s 90th Birthday
While this milestone has passed, the Year of Compassion includes features inspired by his legacy — digital tribute, archival reflections, and more.
Spotlighting the work of the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics.
Looking for Compassion Events?
As the Year of Compassion unfolds, Emory schools and departments will host events across campus and online. You’ll be able to find them all in one place on the Emory Events Calendar.
Visit the Emory Events CalendarHOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE?
Contact & Resources
Contact UsPropose An Event
Proposals for academic lectures, creative projects, and service initiatives are welcome.
Email Contact
Social Sharing
Instagram | LinkedIn | Share to Email
Year of Compassion Toolkit
Access the toolkit for messaging, logos, and design templates.
Voices of Compassion
This section features rotating reflections from Emory faculty, students, and staff through videos, interviews, and written pieces, including:
- “Why Compassion Matters to Me” personal essays
- Staff and student spotlights
- Community engagement stories
Content will rotate periodically throughout the year to highlight faculty research, student initiatives, academic courses, and campus events that embody compassion in action.
Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics
The Year of Compassion is anchored by the groundbreaking work of the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics. In partnership with Emory Presidential Distinguished Professor His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Center leads Emory’s global contributions to compassion-based learning and research.