Ithaca College

On behalf of President Thomas Rochon, I am pleased to announce that President Barack Obama's autobiographical narrative, Dreams from My Father, is the first-year reading selection for the 2009-10 academic year.

Publishers Weekly called Obama's recollections a, "poignant, probing memoir" of a "lonely voyage to racial identity."

Paul Watkins of the New York Times proclaimed: "All men live in the shadow of their fathers -- the more distant the father, the deeper the shadow. Barack Obama describes his confrontation with this shadow in his provocative autobiography, Dreams from My Father, and he also persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither."

President Rochon writes, "President Obama's ruthlessly honest self-examination on issues of race and identity gives us an opportunity to lead students through what could be the most important conversation they will have during their freshman year."

[Editor's note: The Ithaca College Library has compiled an extensive resources list to help students prepare for the August 25 discussion. Click on the link to find biographical details, background info, television interviews with President Obama, and more!]

Dreams from My Father was selected from a long list of worthy texts submitted by faculty, staff, and students. The process involved winnowing the list first to 10 semi-finalists and then 5 finalists, from which President Rochon made the final selection after meeting with the First-Year Reading Initiative (FYRI) selection committee to listen to their thoughts on each of the texts.

President Rochon extends his warm thanks to the selection committee, who worked many long hours during the selection process.

FYRI Selection Committee Members

Barbara Adams
Phoebe Constantinou
Jessica Guido '11
Dan Isbell
Julia Lapp
Kathleen Mulligan
Tanya Saunders
Erica Shockley
Bob Sullivan
Janet Wigglesworth