Although UT will soon welcome the Class of 2016, First-Year Studies program organizers are already looking ahead to next year and want your input in selecting the common reading book for the Class of 2017.
FYS has announced that its Life of the Mind program for the Class of 2017 will focus on environmental sustainability.
The Life of the Mind program gives first-year students their first taste of UT academic life. A common reading book is used as a tool to challenge students’ thinking and engage them in discussion about important issues and their transition to college.
Life of the Mind books should:
- expose students to the Ready for the World international and intercultural initiative;
- represent a transition or journey that can be related to the first-year experience at UT;
- target specific campus initiatives or current global events;
- have a living author, editor, or representative who can visit campus and talk to students; and
- have fewer than 350 pages and cost less than $20.
To suggest a book that has the theme of environmental sustainability, visit http://torch.utk.edu/lifeofthemind/suggestion.shtml. Nominations meeting the above criteria will be reviewed by a team of faculty, staff, and students to determine the final nominations that reach the book committee in fall. The final selection will be announced before the end of the fall 2012 semester.