Common reading program announced

Common reading program announced

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

All incoming undergraduates and other members of the Rice community are invited to read Elizabeth Kolbert’s “Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change,” and participate in follow-up discussions and activities as part of this year’s Rice Common Reading program.

The program, which is sponsored by the Dean of Undergraduates, Robin Forman, provides freshmen with a free book, a series of fall events to discuss the reading and Web pages with additional resources. O Week coordinators and advisers, colleges masters, resident associates and coordinators, peer academic advisers and college academic fellows also receive free copies of the book.

“The Common Reading is a way for Rice to welcome students to the university’s intellectual community and provides a shared experience for the first-year class,” said Forman. ”Beyond these goals for new students, the Common Reading also provides a wonderful opportunity to stimulate discussions across the Rice community on one of the most pressing issues of the day.”

This year’s book selection provides a serious examination of global climate change that avoids the charged rhetoric of alarmists, naysayers and politicians.

The Common Reading events begin with the faculty welcome address Aug. 20 by
Neal Lane, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor, senior fellow in science and technology policy at Rice’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and professor of physics and astronomy. Lane served as director of the National Science Foundation and science adviser to President Bill Clinton.

Other events for the common reading will be held: