Rome Is Reading "To Kill a Mockingbird"

This morning I received the following note from Dean Mary Merva of John Cabot University in Rome:

Dear University Friends,

I hope this finds you all well. John Cabot University is very pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts to undertake THE BIG READ ROME during October 2009.

JCU is the first overseas American university to be awarded such a grant and we are proud that we are increasing the reputation of JCU as one of America's important educational assets abroad.

We shall be reading Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird with the Italian high schools, US military groups, and the local Roman English speaking community. We would like to involve your students as much as possible in this project so we'll be sending you the website links with contact information. As you can imagine, there will be internships and volunteer opportunities for your students to bring this program to life in Rome.

This is a wonderful chance to bring more of America to the Mediterranean region which is part of JCU's mission as an institute of higher education in Rome. The American students you send us bring as much to our community as we hope they gain from their international experience at JCU.

With warm regards,

Mary Merva
Dean of Academic Affairs
John Cabot University