Welcome

MTSU's Community Summer Reading Program was created in 2002 under the direction of Laurie Witherow, the Assistant Dean in the University College. The objectives of the program are to:

• Provide a unifying experience for the entering class of students,

• Partner with Murfreesboro community organizations,

• Encourage intellectual interaction among students,

• Provide students with the opportunity to read and personally interact with critically-acclaimed authors, and

• Affirm the importance of reading for a successful and fulfilling life.

During CUSTOMS, all incoming freshman students receive packets that include a Summer Reading Guide, information about the author, and a list of course sections using the book selection for the Fall. In its first year, over 100 different course sections from three different academic colleges participated, along with six reading groups from the local community! More than 7,000 people attended last Fall's University Convocation where our guest author was invited to speak.

2012

We are excited to announce that the 2012 Summer Reading selection will be A Pearl in the Storm by Tori McClure. Tori is the first woman to have rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean. This book describes that undertaking and so much more. The official website for the book describes it this way, “A Pearl in the Storm is about failure and recovery. It is about storms that twist our lives and shatter our dreams. It is about the pearls: the guides, the guardians, and the mentors who lift us up after we fall.” Visit the website for the book at http://www.apearlinthestorm.com/.

Please mark your calendar to join us in welcoming Tori McClure as our keynote speaker for the opening University Convocation, which will be held again in the Murphy Center on Sunday, August 26 at 2pm.

Past Summer Reading Program Book Selections at MTSU

For more information about the Community Summer Reading Program, contact Becca Seul via email at Becca.Seul@mtsu.edu or via phone at (615) 898-2339.