Miami welcomes new students to its community of learning through the Summer Reading Program. In this important tradition, now 25 years old, we underline those activities we value most as a community: critical engagement with ideas; close interaction among faculty, staff, and students; and reading, listening, talking, and learning as characteristics of active, responsible citizenship. We can think of no better way of introducing you to the kind of life you will lead for the next four years than asking you, first, to read a book during the summer and, second, to return to campus in August prepared to discuss it with your fellow students. You will be able to hear the author of this year's text when he or she addresses University Convocation on the eve of your first semester at Miami. University Convocation, a celebratory occasion that includes an academic procession, music, and welcoming remarks from the president of the university and the president of Associated Student Government, marks the formal opening of the academic year.

Pick up your copy of this year's Summer Reading Program text at the University Bookstore during Orientation.Read the book when you return home, try to keep a reader's journal and jot down ideas about the text, and bring the book with you when you return to campus in August. Immediately after Convocation you will join others-- usually from your residence hall -- for a small group discussion of the book with professors, student affairs staff, and returning upper-division students.

Participation in the Summer Reading Program is your first assignment as a university student. Your willingness to take the assignment seriously and to participate actively in group discussions in August may have important influences on your subsequent achievements as a Miami Student.