The third annual Hindu baccalaureate service was held at the University of Nevada–Reno (UNR) in the Joe Crowley Student Union on Sunday April 11, 2010. Attending on behalf of the Second Advent Church was the Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr., who also took part in planning the event as president of the Nevada Clergy Association.
Bishop Savoy gave a blessing on behalf of the International Community of Christ and the interfaith clergy of Nevada. He was joined on the dais by many other local religious leaders who gave their blessings over the students gathered: Reverend Phil Bryan (Reno Buddhist Church); Pastor Bruce Taylor (Spanish Springs Presbyterian Church); Roya Galata (Baha’i Faith); Professor Shih Fan Chu, who recited a Confucian prayer in Chinese; Swami Vedananda (Hindu monk); Elder Bruce Brinkerhoff (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); Jim Eaglesmith and Aimee Dorion (Hindu kivtan in Sanskrit); Father Charles T. Durante (Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Community); Imam Abdulrahim Barghoutti (Northern Nevada Muslim Community); Rabbi Elizabeth Beyer (Temple Beth Or); and Ralph Burns (Paiute Tribe). Also present were several local and state public officials. The event was sponsored by the Universal Society of Hinduism led by its president, Rajan Zed. It included musical presentations, as well as traditional Hindu recitations and ceremonies, and closed with a vegetarian dinner.
Read an article on the event in the University of Nevada-Reno newsletter, Nevada News: