myVU - Resources for Faculty and Staff

Help pick Commons reading for 2016

Posted 3/17/2011

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All faculty, students and staff are invited to help choose a book for the Commons reading for the class of 2016.

The Commons reading is a book which is mailed to all rising first-year students to be read during the summer before they arrive on campus, and which will be discussed all over campus during their first days at Vanderbilt and throughout the year.  The first Commons Reading was Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson.  The reading for the Class of 2015, which will be mailed to them this June, is The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need, by Peter Gomes.

We need your help to find the right book for the class of 2016.

Before March 31, visit Common Place and click on the "Commons reading" button.  There, you can see a list of the titles which have already been suggested, you can "like" or comment on any of those titles, or you can suggest a new title (VUnetID required).

The final title will be chosen by the faculty heads of houses and dean of The Commons from those suggested.

The book should be accessible for an audience composed of 18-year-olds, albeit very bright 18-year-olds. It should be intellectually challenging and accommodating to multiple opinions and perspectives.  In short, it should model the standards for intellectual life at Vanderbilt.

Please take a few minutes to visit the site, and help us out with a "Like," a comment, or a suggestion.

Contact: Michael Martin, (615) 322-2952