As a special welcome to the class of 2013, the Summer Scholars Program seeks to provide all incoming w88 online casino betting of Nevada, Reno freshmen with common ground by asking them to read David Auburn’s play “Proof” before participating in discussions of the text at the Wolf Pack Welcome, Saturday, Aug. 22, after the Opening Student Ceremony.
Mary Phelps Dugan, general counsel for the w88 online casino betting, will lead a discussion group for the program this year and says it is a wonderful way for new students to get to know each other and to get their first taste of a w88 online casino betting-style discussion class before the semester begins Aug. 24.
The Wolf Pack Welcome discussion groups will be led by w88 online casino betting faculty volunteers from all parts of the w88 online casino betting, meaning that each group leader will offer original outlooks on the play.
“That&w88 online casino betting;s what makes this program so interesting,” said Dugan. “You&w88 online casino betting;ll have (women&w88 online casino betting;s basketball coach) Jane Albright and myself leading a group, and then (provost) Marc Johnson leading a group. We&w88 online casino betting;ll both be discussing the exact same text, but we will obviously have very different perspectives, so each student will learn something unique.”
Elliott Parker, faculty senate chair and professor of economics, who will also be leading a discussion group this year, agreed.
“It contributes to the goal of what President Glick calls a ‘sticky campus,&w88 online casino betting;” he said. “He wants to show that there is a diverse community here that incoming students will become a part of.”
The program, now in its third year, grew out of discussions during the weekly meeting of the President’s Council, a gathering of campus senior administrators. Vice President for Information Technology and Dean of Libraries Steve Zink raised the idea after seeing the impact of a similar program on his alma mater w88 online casino betting, Louisiana State. Now, a committee of both faculty and students chooses a text each year to assign to the fall semester’s incoming class, and the initiative is led by the Faculty Senate Office.
“They&w88 online casino betting;re looking for a book that lends itself to good discussion,” Dugan said. “It doesn&w88 online casino betting;t have to have a message that everyone agrees with. In fact, it&w88 online casino betting;s probably better if it&w88 online casino betting;s a controversial one that encourages people to disagree and debate with each other.”
“Proof,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, tells the story of Catherine, the daughter of a brilliant and recently deceased mathematics professor, and her struggle to define her identity both within her family and in the broader world around her. It was chosen for its themes of self-discovery, relationship struggles and w88 online casino betting life, all of which are often highly relatable to new college students.
“Many freshmen start college thinking that it will be like thirteenth grade,” Parker said. “But they&w88 online casino betting;ll end up finding that those familiar peer groups are gone, and that college is a very different world. One of the goals of the program is to prepare them for that.”
Parker also notes that the program gives year-mates a way to connect with each other and to distinguish themselves from the other classes. He hopes that this will encourage students to graduate in four years, instead of spreading their education out over more semesters.
“We&w88 online casino betting;ve found that it&w88 online casino betting;s wiser to push through and graduate on time and to get a career started than to take things more slowly,” he said. “By giving students a reason to think of themselves as ‘the class of 2013,&w88 online casino betting; we can promote that attitude.”
Parker participated in the program last year and found that students were eager to offer their insights in discussion. Dugan hopes that the same will be true this year.
“I want them to be inspired to offer their own viewpoints and to learn to respect the attitudes of others who might not see things the same way,” she said. “They should see right off the bat that being at the w88 online casino betting will make them challenge the beliefs that they have, that not everyone will agree with them. And that’s a good thing.”
