Dan Gediman, executive producer of National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” series and co-editor of the books, “This I Believe” and “This I Believe II” is coming to NIU.
Gediman will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18, and 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium of the Holmes Student Center.
For the second year, “This I Believe II” is NIU’s common reading selection for the 2012-2013 academic year.
Dan Gediman is a long-time public radio producer and co-editor with Jay Allison of the books “This I Believe” and “This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women.”
He has won many of public broadcasting’s most prestigious awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award. He is also an accomplished public speaker who has delivered scores of speeches and training workshops for schools, businesses and community organizations.
“This I Believe II is a collection of seventy-five 500-word essays written by a variety of Americans who have expressed one of their strongly held beliefs.
Gediman’s goal in reviving the “This I Believe” series, originally aired as a 1950s radio program, “is not to persuade Americans to agree on the same beliefs. Rather, the hope is to encourage people to begin the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from their own.”
The use of “This I Believe II” as a common reading reinforces the Northern Pact as the university strives to foster an educational community where beliefs are listened to justly, supported and shared openly.
A UNIV student who read the book last year said the “book not only allows us to talk about the fundamentals of essay writing, but it also gives us a way to express our own ideas and to open a dialogue between students about what’s important to them.”
“This I Believe II” enables the campus community to explore how personal beliefs are established and change over time. Using the book, the NIU and greater community can explore such issues as social justice, forgiveness, faith and religion, patriotism, hope and responsibility to the community. All participants will find something in this book that will make them think and will lead to a greater appreciation of the university experience.
As part of his DeKalb appearance, Gediman also will conduct a workshop with the DeKalb High School humanities students at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19.
A list of upcoming Common Reading Experience events for the fall is available online. For more information, call (815) 753-1535 or email orientation@niu.edu.