For more than 100 years, Meredith has been educating women to excel. But in the modern world, our collective knowledge is accumulating faster than at any other time in history. In order to succeed while at Meredith and beyond, our students must be challenged to deepen their understanding of how to learn. They must be able to synthesize new knowledge and ways of knowing in order to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

The 2010-11 campus theme, Critical Thinking for Critical Times, invites the entire community to explore complex problems through discussion, reading and hands-on experiences; to reflect on our own thinking and biases; and to open our minds to other points of view. Class work, campus activities and even service-learning opportunities will relate to this theme as together we deepen our understanding and practice of what it means to think critically.

Here are some ways for you to participate in our campus theme:

• The Summer Reading Program kicks off our campus theme each year. This year’s selection is “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” by Pulitzer Prize-winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Authors Kristof and WuDunn explore issues faced by women around the world, and offer ways readers can help make a difference.
  
  
• The Presidential Lecture Series, which is free and open to the public, involves the larger Raleigh community and exposes people to new ways of thinking about critical issues. As part of the series, Meredith will welcome Nicholas Kristof to campus on September 20, 2010, when he will discuss “Half the Sky.” The lecture will be held at 7 p.m. in Jones Auditorium.
  
  
• This year’s theme will be supported with the introduction of a new campus initiative, the PRISM Experience. PRISM seeks to improve students’ critical thinking skills throughout their four-years at Meredith.