Dalai Lama named professor at US university

Atlanta, Feb 6: The Dalai Lama has accepted an appointment as a professor at Atlanta's Emory University in the first such appointment the Tibetan spiritual leader has accepted, the university said.

The appointment reflects a partnership between Emory and Tibetan exiles that includes a major project to provide a comprehensive science education curriculum to Tibetan Buddhist monks, said Emory spokeswoman Elaine Justice yesterday.

Emory has named the Nobel Peace Prize laureate a presidential distinguished professor and he will deliver a lecture in October and take part in a conference on science and spirituality, Justice said.

The Dalai Lama fled in 1959 to India after Chinese troops first occupied Tibet in 1950. From there he leads the Tibetan exile community, calling for a ''Middle Way'' approach of autonomy but not independence for Tibet.

Reuters