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May 15, 2002
Dear Member of the Class of 2006:
Welcome to the Michigan Community! As you get ready to explore
the immense intellectual and cultural resources this university
has to offer, I'm sure you know that the next four years will
be exciting, challenging, and filled with growth. If I may, I'd
like to offer a bit of advice. Be ready to learn in and outside
the classroom. There are many non-academic activities to choose
from, and some of the most significant personal growth takes
place outside coursework. Be assured, too, that there are many
people here dedicated to helping you make the most of your next
four years -- faculty, advisors, and your fellow students. If
you encounter difficulties, be persistent and imaginative in
dealing with them. But don't be hesitant about asking for help;
actively seek it out.
Included in this package are a First
Year Handbook and a Fall
Term First Year Course Guide. They contain
descriptions of many representative courses the College offers
and other information. Please bring these booklets with you to
Orientation. College requirements and the requirements of particular
programs of study will dictate some choices, but there is enough
flexibility for you to experiment and to sample the variety that
our curriculum offers. Do not feel compelled to take all the
courses that seem essential to you right away. Some can wait.
The unusual course that you discover, the one that might never
have occurred to you until you read about it, may turn out to
be the best of all. An academic advisor will help you plan your
program at Orientation.
A brochure that accompanies this letter describes a program
of seminars for entering students in the Fall Term. These
First-Year Seminars give many first-year students the chance
to sample a particular subject in a small class, under the guidance
of an experienced member of the faculty. Such classes provide
a lively sense of the intellectual challenges and opportunities
of the University, and all count in some way toward satisfying
requirements for graduation.
Remember that you have the opportunity and the responsibility
to help shape your undergraduate education. Think of this in
the broadest terms you can, as education for life as well as
for a certain career. These objectives are usually compatible,
and in the long run you profit most from your education if you
plan with both of them in mind.
I wish you the best in your years with us.
Sincerely
Robert M. Owen
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
and Professor of Marine Geochemistry

Last updated 16-May-02 11:08 a.m.
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