Objectives of the Program
- To acquaint new students with Cal Maritime’s academic environment, including its mission and values
- To initiate relationships between students and the campus community
- To introduce students to academic discussion
- To inspire a lifelong love of learning
Selection Committee
Aparna Sinha, Chair, Culture & Communication
Michele Van Hoeck, Dean of Library
Matthew Fairbanks, Science & Math
Mike Holden, Mechanical Engineering
Emily Scheese, Athletics
Ali Moradmand, Science & Math
Margot Hanson, Library
David Taliaferro, Commandant of Cadets
Amy Parsons, Culture & Communication
Sam Pearson, Marine Transportation
Ariel Setniker, Science & Math
2021 Common Read Selection
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb's effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta's family did not learn of her "immortality" until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family--past and present--is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family--especially Henrietta's daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn't her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks;captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.Publication Date: 2011
2021 Finalists (not selected)
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The Beauty in Breaking by Publication Date: 2020 -
Pale Rider by Publication Date: 2018 -
Our Malady by Publication Date: 2020 -
Black Man in a White Coat by Publication Date: 2016
Final rating criteria for selection
1. Relevant to the Cal Maritime mission. The connection can be indirect, but it should be consistent throughout the book.
2. Multifaceted. Can the book’s themes be approached from most major fields (science, business, humanities, etc.)? Major themes must hold up under scrutiny.
3. Non-didactic. The book's themes shouldn't be too obvious or heavy-handed.
4. Artful, but not overwrought (prose style). It should be entertaining, but also thought provoking.
5. Impressive, to you. Rank the book for its "wow-factor."
Additional criteria: The committee will give preference to books under 400 pages, but strong recommendations for longer books will be considered. Committee also gives preference to books available in paperback.
Cal Maritime Mission for Undergrads
- Provide each student with a college education combining intellectual learning, applied technology, leadership development, and global awareness.
- Provide the highest quality licensed officers and other personnel for the merchant marine and national maritime industries.