Berkley Center

Kurtis R. Schaeffer is the Frances Myers Ball Professor of Religion and the chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. He is a student of Buddhist history and culture, with a special interest in the spiritual literature of Tibet and the Himalayas. He is the author or editor of nine books, including the largest anthology of Tibetan literature in English and, most recently, a translation of the life of the Buddha. Schaeffer co-directs the half-century-old Tibetan Buddhist studies graduate program at the University of Virginia. Together with Martien Halvorson-Taylor, Schaeffer directs the Global Religion Lab at the University of Virginia.