Welcome students, faculty and staff!

Integral Institute welcomes the Fall 2009 Cohorts from Fielding Graduate University and John F. Kennedy University and extend our best wishes to each new student as you begin to deepen your knowledge and application of the Integral Model.  Good luck with your studies and we look forward to following your progress along the way.

Fielding Graduate University and John F. Kennedy University begin their fourth year providing unique programs that educate the next generation of integrally informed scholar-practitioners.  We are proud of our continued relationship with our academic partners and wish all returning students, faculty and staff the best this coming year.

This month we especially welcome new faculty instructors beginning this fall and, as a way to get to know them better, we have included a short profile below.  To learn more about the programs offered by Fielding Graduate University visit here and to learn more about the programs at John F. Kennedy University visit here. 

Clint Fuhs is a teacher, writer, workshop facilitator, and coach specializing in integral theory and practice. He is a senior student of Ken Wilber who has studied and applied the integral approach for over ten years.  After six years of working in curriculum and operations at Integral Institute and Integral Life, Clint is now the founder and CEO of Core Integral, Inc. Dedicated to ensuring the integrity of a comprehensive and engaged integral understanding, Core Integral works in partnership with Ken Wilber and Integral Life.  Clint is currently completing his Ph.D. in human and organization development at Fielding Graduate University. Currently, Clint teaches in affiliation with Core Integral, Inc, iEvolve Global Practice Community, and the degree programs at John F. Kennedy and Fielding Graduate Universities, and is being trained to use the Lectical Assessment System with Developmental Testing Service.

Jeff W. Cohen, Ph.D. will be teaching the Introduction to Integral Studies course at Fielding Graduate University this fall and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Worcester State College in Worcester, Massachusetts. His areas of academic and research concentration include Integral applications in gender and masculinities studies, pedagogy/andragogy, and prisoner re-entry/reintegration. Jeff’s work has been published in the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, The Journal of Men’s Studies, and Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, and he was a contributor at the1st Biennial Integral Theory in Action Conference where he presented his paper, “What’s Sex ‘Gotta’ Do With It? The Study of Gender in Criminology and the Social Sciences.”  Jeff currently resides in both Worcester, Massachusetts where he enjoys spending time with his cat and tending to his garden, as well as Seattle, Washington where he enjoys hiking in both the urban setting and surrounding mountains with his husband. Jeff continues to practice Vipassana meditation, Tai Chi, and Kripalu Yoga.

Mark D. Forman, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Integral Theory Program, as well as co-founder and co-lead organizer of the Integral Theory Conference. Mark is a clinical psychologist and has worked in a variety of settings, including the Salvation Army’s Adult Substance Rehabilitation Program, Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and San Jose St. University’s Student Counseling Center.  Mark’s text on the application of Integral theory to psychotherapy—A Guide to Integral Psychotherapy: Complexity, Integration, and Spirituality in Practice—will be published by SUNY Press in April, 2010. Mark is a long time disciple of Gurumayi Chidvilasanda and currently studies under Moksananda (a student of Gurumayi and Adyashanti). He aligns philosophically with the schools of non-dual Kashmir Shaivism and Advaita Vedanta. Mark lives with his wife, Jenny, and his three-year-old son, Jacob, in the Bay Area.

Nick Hedlund, M.A. is a scholar-practitioner of integral studies specializing in the dynamics of psychospiritual development and its relationship to eco-social well-being.  He is Adjunct Professor in the Integral Theory Department at John F. Kennedy University and will be teaching Integral Research. He also serves as Associate Researcher at the Integral Research Center and is Associate Organizer of the biennial Integral Theory Conference.  Nick is currently Guest Editor of a special issue of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice (JITP) on Integral Research. He is a practitioner of an emergent psychospiritual path known as Psychosophy® and is a founding researcher at the Psychosophy Research Institute. His Integral Research study on Psychosophy® meditation appears in the JITP.  Nick also serves as a psychospiritual coach and Integral consultant through his business—Integral Synergy Consulting. He is currently a doctoral student at the California Institute of Integral Studies and lives with his partner Liza on a beautiful property north of San Francisco.

Zachary Stein received a B.A. in philosophy from Hampshire College in 2004 and an Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, and Education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 2006. He is currently a student of philosophy and cognitive development pursing a doctorate at Harvard. He is also the Senior Analyst for the Developmental Testing Service.  His research focuses on theoretical work in psychometrics, developmental assessment, and the philosophy of education. Zak is also editor of upcoming special sections of the journal Mind, Brain, and Education that will focus on research and practice involving learning sequences (i.e. lines of development).  He has been involved with numerous empirical research efforts including a major leadership development project carried out for a network of federal government agencies and studies on graduate student's epistemological development at Harvard and John F. Kennedy University.  He also serves as head Teaching Fellow for the Mind, Brain, and Education Ed.M program at Harvard.

Chris Dierkes is a student and writer working on the intersection between Christianity and Integral and will be teaching a course in Integral Christianity this year at John F. Kennedy University.  Chris brings an extensive knowledge and deep practice of both integral theory and Christianity and has been studying the Christian mystical tradition both as a scholar, as well as a contemplative-practitioner, since the age of eighteen.  Chris is a former board member of Integral University where he helped form the Integral Christianity domain.  Chris has written for Integral World online and will have an article published on Integral Christianity in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice.  He also writes extensively through his blog (Indistinct Union) and has a manuscript under review from SUNY press on Integral Christian Mysticism.  Chris lives in gorgeous Vancouver, British Columbia with his beautiful wife Chloe and is currently preparing for ordination as a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada.