TAMIU Annual Report 2020

TAMIU READING THE GLOBE PROGRAM HOSTS DRIVE-IN LECTURE FEATURING AUTHOR COLIN BRODERICK TAMIU’s Reading the Globe program annual lecture was presented a little differently this year. Adrive-in lecture, thefirst of its kind, was heldOct. 1 at the Senator JudithZaffirini Student Success Center parking lot. The livestreamed lecture can be viewed a t go.tamiu.edu/ar20-broderick Guest lecturerwas novelist ColinBroderick . His “That’s That: AMemoir,” served as this year’sUniversity CommonRead. Inhismemoir, Broderick unravels thefirst 20 years of his life growingup inNorthern Ireland throughout the 1970s-80s. It is through this coming-of-age story that Broderick delivers a personal account of his life in a period of heightened tension and violence known historically as “The Troubles.” The drive-in lecturewas one ofmany innovativewaysUniversity programmingwasmodified to adjust toCenters for Diseases Control guidelines regarding social distancing and gathering. Other notable events included a day-long virtual Alumni Association celebration of the University’s 50th Anniversary, virtual student Welcome Week activities, a drive-thru and distanced student-led Voter Registration drive, and multiple Face- book Live concerts and lectures. TheUniversity’sReadingtheGlobeprogramisfundedinpartbyHumanitiesTexas,theStateaffiliateoftheNationalEndowmentfortheHumanities. Students took advantage of the opportunity to gather even froma distance to enjoy the lecture. PhotographbyWojtekUrbanek 18