Freshman Reading Round-Up rides into town Aug. 26

Freshman Reading Round-Up is a new program for first-year students at The University of Texas at Austin. Open to all freshmen entering the university in summer or fall 2003, the Round-Up gives new Longhorns the chance to choose a book for summer reading from among 40 titles recommended by members of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers. On Aug. 26, the day before the start of the fall semester, students participating in the Round-Up will meet in small groups for an informal discussion with the professor who recommended the book.

The idea for a freshman summer reading program was conceived by Jim Vick, vice president for student affairs, who is familiar with freshman reading programs on other campuses. He brought the idea to his colleagues in the academy, who were enthusiastic.

“It’s important for freshmen to experience from the beginning that the university is essentially a place of ideas, where inquiry and discovery occur every day among students and professors,” said Vick, a professor of mathematics.

Elizabeth Cullingford, professor of English, who has volunteered to lead a Round-Up session on Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway,” is excited about the program.

“The idea appeals to me because it involves reading a book for no credit at all, either for students or faculty. It tells students at the beginning of their university careers that learning begins in pleasure and curiosity,” said Cullingford. “I’m hoping to get the attention of people who saw ‘The Hours’ and wondered why ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ had such an impact on so many different women.”

The book selections were entirely up to the professors, and are remarkably varied in subject matter and genre—ranging from cutting-edge science to classical drama to controversial social issues—which reflects another goal of the Reading Round-Up: to make available to the university community and public the list of diverse books chosen by some of the university’s most highly awarded teachers.

All eligible freshmen have been sent an e-mail message inviting them to participate in the Round-Up. Registration for the Reading Round-Up will be online, at the Freshman Reading Round-Up Web site, and will continue throughout the summer so long as seats in the discussion sessions are available.

If the program is a success, Vick envisions a larger group of participating faculty in years to come, with more of the incoming freshman class signed up to get an early introduction to the intellectual territory known as the Forty Acres.

Academy of Distinguished Teachers

The university’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers was established in 1995 by Mark Yudof, who was provost at that time. The academy honors faculty who have been exemplary teachers over an extended period, with a focus on those who teach undergraduate students and make an impact on the undergraduate experience. New members are elected each year and asked to serve for the duration of their tenure at the university. Membership in the academy is limited to no more than five percent of tenured faculty.

Academy professors on the Reading Round-Up...

“This is a wonderful way for students to enter into the active intellectual life of a university: meeting with faculty and other interested students to talk about thought-provoking books. It sets a tone for what a quality undergraduate experience should be.”—Bob Duke, professor of music and human learning.

“Why I chose ‘North Toward Home’: Although I never knew Willie Morris, I know many people who did know him. He was a student folk hero when I was in college: a student editor who stood up to the Board of Regents in the conservative 1950s. What better book for a UT freshman to read than this classic story of a very green freshman from Yazoo, Mississippi, who comes of age at The University of Texas?”—Patricia Kruppa, professor of history.

“I’ve always thought that successful education combines the intellectual with the social. The Freshman Reading Round-up will give new students a great start on meeting classmates and sharing ideas with them. Whatever else they do in their years at UT, whatever majors they choose, these students will have at least one book in common, and they will all know at least one faculty member whose door will always be open to them.”—James Garrison, professor of English.

“Why am I doing this? Because first-year students should be welcomed by faculty, and because we should give them the idea that they can talk to us—and because books are neat things to talk about. My book is about a young man’s leaving home—so it fits their situation in some ways.”—Paul Woodruff, professor of philosophy.

“The university’s commitment to teaching must always be judged first by its sincere commitment to lower-division students. It’s the foundation of their experience and success here. I participate in all these book projects (Voltaire’s coffee, etc.) and what I’ve learned is that this first encounter with UT faculty is the key to ‘feeling’ the sense of an academic home.”—Michael Adams, professor of English.