Academics Overview

Media

ITP Supports 

• Curriculum vitæ
• Profile
• Research
• kpatel@itp.edu
• 415-994-6395

Kartikeya (Kartik) Patel, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and former Dean of the Online/Distance Learning Programs and Educational Information Technology as well as the former Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, California. He is also the Faculty Senate President at ITP. Kartik served on the Substantive Change Committee of the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) from 2005-2009 and conducted over 35 substantive change reviews of accredited institutions involving new online/distance learning initiatives, new sites, international, dual-degree , degree level and organizational changes such as mission change or institutional mergers. He is currently serving as an evaluator for WASC on institutional accreditation matters including Capacity and Preparatory Reviews (CPR), Educational Effectiveness Reviews (EER), and special visits. In 2009, Kartik was nominated by Dr. Angeles Arrien for the prestigious Fetzer project on Higher Education Leadership titled "Inter-Generational Mentoring Community: Fostering an Emergence and Transfer of Leadership in Higher Education."

Kartik grew up living in both the tribal world and the modern world of India. In tribal land, he lived without access to running water, electricity, or paved roads. He communed with nature, and learnt to share space with other species. Kartik's early childhood provided him with an opportunity to be part of an extended family and part of a community that believed in generously sharing whatever meager resources it had. These early encounters instilled in Kartik a trust in the goodness of human spirit, faith in the universe, and a belief in the transformative power of nature. Kartik grew up speaking many languages and is proficient in Sanskrit, Pali, Dhodafu (an Indian tribal language), Hindi, and Gujarati. Following his passion for languages, Kartik has also taught himself modern Web based and programming languages such as xml, html5, and javascript. He is also proficient in Adobe Creative Suite 4+.

Kartik received his undergraduate education in India and had the opportunity to study philosophy while sitting in the same space that the Indian luminary Sri Aurobindo had once occupied while teaching at the Baroda College (now the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara). Kartik completed his Masters work in the Philosophy of Mind at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, and his doctoral work at the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, USA. Thus, Kartik brings with him the richness of experience gained from living in different cultures and being educated in three different educational systems on three different continents.

After teaching at various San Francisco Bay Area institutions, Kartik joined the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in 1997. As a Dean of ITP's Online/Distance Learning Global Programs and Accreditation Liaison Officer, in collaboration with faculty colleagues, staff, and management, in 2001-2002 Kartik initiated, received accreditation approval, and successfully implemented an online Ph.D. program in psychology that focuses on the research, evaluation, and application of transformative transpersonal principles such as appreciation of differences, mindfulness, discernment, and compassion in four major areas: individuals, small groups, organizations, and communities. Through the innovative online pedagogy of the "co-hearts" learning model, students complete the coursework started at face-to-face seminars. Students are taught and encouraged to practice transformative contemplation and learning through attentive listening of the written word, study of a digital creative piece, and working as collaborators rather than as competitors.

Kartik's current research focuses on cross-cultural issues of learning, transformation, and change from a multidisciplinary perspective; integrating world's wisdom traditions notably Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Goddess traditions with modern disciplines; emotions, and understanding transformative change through online collaboration models. He has published on diverse topics including human emotions, logic, Women's spirituality, wisdom psychology, and consciousness studies. His latest invited book chapter “Eastern Traditions, Consciousness, and Spirituality,” will appear in The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality edited by Lisa Miller (Oxford Library of Psychology Series, Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN: 978-019-972-9920). Kartik is also currently writing a book on the psychology, technology, and administration of Online Learning and Online Programs.