Valpomag

Kipfer ’78 Has ‘14,000 Things to Be Happy About’

Barbara Ann (Hinton ’78) Kipfer

As a student at Valparaiso University in the mid-1970s, Barbara Ann (Hinton ’78) Kipfer majored in physical education and aspired to be a football coach.

During the last 30 years, her career has taken a “slightly” different route. A linguist and lexicographer, Kipfer has written 40 books, including the bestselling “14,000 Things to Be Happy About.”

“I may not have been the best student at VU,” she says, “but I did ‘learn to learn,’ which I believe is the most important thing one can gain from one’s undergraduate education.

“I was born a listmaker, and the first serious one I started (in sixth grade) became ‘14,000 Things to Be Happy About,’ which has sold more than one million copies,” she says. “I also enjoyed reading dictionaries and encyclopedias when I was young and decided I might like that type of work. I started to ‘self-teach’ myself lexicography.”

Kipfer eventually obtained a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in linguistics from the University of Exeter, a Ph.D. in archaeology from Greenwich University, and a master’s degree in Buddhist studies from Greenwich University.

“Lexicography is also about listmaking and my interest in Buddhist studies stemmed from the Buddha being a prolific listmaker who taught people about his concepts by putting them into lists,” Kipfer says. “Many of my ideas for books also have a spiritual theme. Lexicography, archaeology, Buddhist studies, and art all have a spiritual essence and are carried out independently by those who participate in them. Though they seem diverse to other people, I definitely feel the connection between these topics."

Her latest book, “Field Guide to Happiness: A Manual for Identifying Happiness in its Natural Habitat,” is about setting oneself on a course to “choose” happiness.

“I need to keep learning things every single day,” she says. “I believe that is what everyone is meant to do, and I think that is what brings the greatest happiness— stretching ourselves, as well as paying attention to everything around us and being mindful of everything we undertake.”

Read more about Kipfer’s latest book in the Alumni Ink section.