VCU, University of Richmond experts to host virtual event on mindfulness

Jan. 28, 2021 - Leila Ugincius

The Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Management and Entrepreneurship and the University of Richmond’s Faculty Learning Community on Mindfulness will present an online discussion Feb. 2 on mindfulness led by two of Richmond’s leading experts in the field.

Christopher Reina, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the VCU School of Business and Monti Narayan Datta, Ph.D., an associate professor of political science at UR, will host “A Mindful Approach to 2021” from 4 to 5 p.m. The Zoom event is free and open to the public and attendees are encouraged to register in advance online. 

“Our hearts are heavy by a raging pandemic that has claimed over 400,000 American lives,” Datta said. “We are also saddened by divisive language and actions from political leaders and concerned about our democracy as we enter 2021. Yet, among all the turbulence and chaos that we may feel inside our minds and bodies, we can also gain some distance from these events and emotions if we practice mindfulness.”

Datta teaches international relations, research methods, human rights and modern slavery, global governance, and the U.S. image. He co-leads the UR Mindfulness Faculty Learning Community, now in its third year. 

Reina, an assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at VCU, focuses on the intersection of leadership, mindfulness and emotions in the workplace and how they aid employees and organizations in adapting to change in order to facilitate employee engagement and organization performance and well-being. He consults and teaches seminars on mindful leadership, negotiation strategies and managing the emotional space within organizations.

“Mindfulness offers us the ability to add some space between who we are and what we do, and in this space, we can find empowerment,” Reina said. “Our goal is to incorporate mindfulness as a way to move forward with more intention, compassion, wisdom and well-being for 2021.”