“Sufism: The Kaleidoscope of the Soul” is the topic of the annual Imam Khattab Lecture on Islamic Thought.

Dr. Ovamir Anjum, UT Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies, will give the free, public lecture 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 in the Law Center McQuade Auditorium.

Sufism is the mystical belief and practice in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and wisdom through their direct personal experience of God. It emphasizes the inward search for God and shuns materialism.

“Sufism has a universal language that speaks to everyone, and it has a universal concern, that of how to relate to the totality of existence, to the ultimate reality and to the ordinary reality, in other words, to God and God’s creation,” Anjum said. “It also has a universal language, that of art, poetry and beauty at large, which can help everyone, regardless of what religion or tradition they profess, to find deeper meaning in life.”

The event is part of the UT Center for Religious Understanding’s annual lecture series, which has been active for more than a decade. The center promotes a deeper understanding of religion on campus and throughout greater Toledo.

“I will share some specific instances of Sufi wisdom, such as the poetry of Rumi and words of the inimitable woman, the lover of the divine, Rabi’a of Basra,” Anjum said.

The University of Toledo College of Nursing improved its place in the U.S. News & World Report list of the top graduate nursing programs in the country.

The recently released 2019 Best Graduate Schools edition lists the master’s program in nursing at 183, up 20 spots from the previous year, and the doctor of nursing practice program is ranked for the first time.

“The significant increase in rank for both our MSN and DNP programs reflects our college’s growing visibility, the quality of our faculty and the increasing excellence of our students,” said Dr. Linda Lewandowski, dean of the UT College of Nursing.

U.S. News ranks programs on criteria such as acceptance rate, GPA, student-faculty ratio and grant funding, among other indicators. Contributing factors to the UT College of Nursing’s increase in the rankings are attracting more highly qualified applicants, graduating more students and strong certification exam pass rates, Lewandowski said.

Graduate training for nurses is building momentum due to the increased complexity of patient care, national conversations about quality and patient safety, and shortages in nursing personnel. In response, UT has added two additional nurse practitioner track specialties — adult gerontology primary care and psychiatric mental health.

UT’s Post-Baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice Program was the first such program in the state when the Ohio Board of Regents approved it in 2012. It is designed to take nurses with a bachelor of science in nursing to the highest level of clinical practice and position them as leaders in the health-care field.

The University of Toledo Medical Center and Life Connection of Ohio will honor Donate Life Month with a flag-raising ceremony 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 3 outside Mulford Library near the main entrance to the hospital on Health Science Campus.

The Donate Life flag will fly throughout the month of April to raise awareness about the need for organ and tissue donors in northwest Ohio and around the country, as well as to encourage more people to register as donors.

Laurie Clemons, whose son Brandon Morris donated his liver after his death, and Devarone Jackson, who received a kidney transplant at UTMC, will both share their personal stories during the brief ceremony. Representatives of Life Connection of Ohio also will be available.

To learn more about organ and tissue donation, visit donatelifeohio.org.