Message from Provost Christine Siegel, PhD, to the incoming class of 2029

June 2025

"Fairfield University invites you to engage in a shared intellectual experience to spark conversation and reflection across disciplines. This summer, we ask you to choose one of three thought-provoking books—Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, or I, Human by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic—and join us in exploring what it means to be authentically human in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI). Focusing on this shared theme provides a foundation for community, dialogue, and discovery at Fairfield. Through this shared experience, we hope to foster curiosity, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of how we can thrive—ethically, emotionally, intellectually, and professionally—in our rapidly changing world."

Common Read Theme: Authentically Human: Who Are We in the Digital Age?

Welcome, Class of 2029!

As you prepare to join the Fairfield University community, we invite you to join a campus conversation on a critical question for our times: What does it mean to be uniquely human in a world shaped by artificial intelligence?

Your Task (to complete by August 18th):

First, choose ONE book from the list below and read it carefully:

• I, Human by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (a nonfiction study of how AI impacts our psychology, relationships, and choices)
• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (a novel that provides an AI "companant’s" perspective on human connection and sacrifice)
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (a memoir that details one person’s ability to find purpose in extreme adversity and the essence of human resilience)

Then, reflect & record: After reading, use this Padlet link to create a 2-5 minute audio recording by August 18th that shares your response to this prompt:

“In a world where AI can mimic skills, analyze data, and even ‘learn,’ what does your book reveal about the irreplaceable core of being human? Connect one moment, idea, or quote from the text to your vision of thriving—not just surviving—in an AI-driven future.”

Tips to Spark Your Thinking:

• Get Personal: How does the book’s message resonate with your hopes, fears, or values about the future?

• Be Specific: Zoom in on one scene, concept, or character that crystallized your thoughts.

• Think Forward: What human qualities (e.g., empathy, creativity, purpose, imperfection) feel most essential to protect or cultivate? Why?

• No Right Answers: We want your authentic perspective—whether analytical, poetic, skeptical, or hopeful!

Some Helpful Response Ideas:

• Share a "lightbulb moment" from the book that changed how you see human-AI collaboration.

• Imagine explaining the book’s key insight about humanity to an AI.

• Connect the book to a current AI trend (e.g., deepfakes, ChatGPT, algorithms) and what it means for your generation.

• Reflect on what the book says about suffering, love, ethics, or meaning—and why AI can’t replicate that.

Please note: Recordings in Padlet will be reviewed by the Common Reads committee and some may be selected for University communications and attributed anonymously.

Fairfield University's DiMenna-Nyselius Library provides access to the common read texts in audiobook and ebook format. A University NetID and password is necessary to gain access to the texts via the links below. Students may also choose to purchase a copy from the Fairfield University Spirit Shop (on the North Benson campus) or the Fairfield University Store (downtown location).

Genres: Science Fiction; Romance

Choose from the audiobook or the ebook, accessible through the Library's Overdrive (Libby) platform. 

Download the Libby App, from the App Store through your mobile device, and add "Fairfield University Library" as your "library card." You will be prompted to login with your Fairfield NetID and password to authenticate your access. If you already have the Libby App through your public library, you can also connect to our titles by adding a new library card to your existing account.  

Author & Awards: Klara and the Sun was long-listed for both the 2021 Booker Prize and the 2022 Carnegie Medal in Fiction, and was a finalist for the 2022 Prometheus Award. Kazuo Ishiguro (born November 8, 1954) is a Japanese-born British novelist known for his lyrical tales of regret fused with subtle optimism. In 2017 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Learn more about Kazuo Ishiguro.  

Genres: Non-fiction; Memoir; Psychology

Choose from the audiobook or the ebook, accessible through the Library's Overdrive (Libby) platform. 

Download the Libby App, from the App Store through your mobile device, and add "Fairfield University Library" as your "library card." You will be prompted to login with your Fairfield NetID and password to authenticate your access. If you already have the Libby App through your public library, you can also connect to our titles by adding a new library card to your existing account.  

Author & Awards: Originally titled, A Psychologist Experiences the Concentration Camp, the book was released in German in 1946. The first edition cover does not identify who wrote it. Finally, after friends persuaded him, Frankl decided to accept responsibility for being the author. The English translation of Man’s Search for Meaning was published in 1959 and became an international bestseller. In 1991, it was listed as “one of the ten most influential books in the U.S.” by the Library of Congress. Still today, decades later, it shows up consistently on academic reading lists and is recommended as one of Amazon’s Top 100 Books to Read In a Lifetime. 

Viktor Emil Frankl (1905–1997) was witness to a transformative period in world history. He is most known for being a Holocaust survivor, but in reality, this represented a short period in his long life. By the time he entered the concentration camps at 37 years old, he had already spent much of his adult life as a psychiatrist and neurologist, specializing in the treatment of suicidal patients. He had also developed his own psychotherapy school called Logotherapy (Greek for “healing through meaning”). His lasting contribution has been to the field of psychology, with his recognition of meaning as a central factor in mental health and his advocacy that the psychologist’s role was to help their patients find meaning. Learn more about Viktor Frankl.

Genres: Non-fiction; Psychology; Technology

Click the link above and choose to read this title as an ebook the Library's 'EBook Central' platform OR the audiobook, accessible through the Library's Overdrive (Libby) platform. 

To read on Overdrive (Libby), download the Libby App, from the App Store through your mobile device, and add "Fairfield University Library" as your "library card." You will be prompted to login with your Fairfield NetID and password to authenticate your access. If you already have the Libby App through your public library, you can also connect to our titles by adding a new library card to your existing account.  

Author & Awards: Featured on the Thinkers50 Best New Management Booklist in 2023. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is the Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup, Professor of Business Psychology at University College London and at Columbia University, cofounder of Deeper Signals, and an associate at Harvard's Entrepreneurial Finance Lab. He is the author of Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (and How to Fix It), upon which his TEDx talk was based. Learn more about Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic.

The Library provides digital subscriptions (at no cost to you) to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and America: The Jesuit Review for Fairfield faculty, staff, and students. Click here for instructions on how to sign-up!