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More than 500 first-year and transfer students gathered in their residence halls and classrooms across campus on Monday to discuss “Being Mortal” by Dr. Atul Gawande. The book was this year’s Carolina Summer Reading Program selection.

Chancellor Carol L. Folt and Student Body President Bradley Opere led one of the small-group discussions. Specially trained faculty, University administrators, staff and students led the other groups. The one-hour talks were designed to intellectually engage students.

“We had the opportunity to speak with discussion leaders at the end of the sessions who shared that it was the best summer reading discussion they have facilitated,” said Jennifer Mallen, director of New Student and Carolina Parent Programs. “When asked why, they said students felt the topic was universal, relatable and of critical importance. The vast majority of students could also personally relate to the topic in a meaningful way though lived experiences.”

Gawande, who gave Carolina’s 2014 Commencement address, is a surgeon, writer and public health researcher. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Samuel O. Thier Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.

“’Being Mortal’ breaks the bubble of UNC’s generational segregation by opening up necessary perspectives on what happens to human life during its waning stages. These discussions serve as critical advance directives staging the hard conversations that all Americans need to have to overcome the denial of death and live a good and meaningful life right to the end,” said Tim Marr, chair of the book selection committee and associate professor in American Studies.

Carolina’s summer reading program began in 1999.

By Scott Jared, Office of Communications and Public Affairs
Published August 22, 2016.