All undergraduate business majors at the Kelley School of Business on the IU Bloomington campus should read the chosen book during the summer before classes begin. Not only will you be able to fully engage with the wide range of events surrounding the book in the fall semester, but you’ll have something in common with your peers and Kelley faculty from the beginning.
Incoming Kelley Direct Admit students will receive a free copy of the Kelley Common Read book.
By Judith Heumann
From Penguin Random House: "A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society.
Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people.
As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples’ rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong."
From Penguin Random House: "Judith Heumann is an internationally recognized leader in the Disability Rights Movement. She has advocated for disability rights at home and abroad, serving in the Clinton and Obama administrations and as World Bank's first adviser on disability and development. She lives in Washington, DC."
Learning about Judith Heumann’s journey is inspiring as she advocates for disability rights, challenges societal norms, and lobbies for policy change. This memoir empowers me and demonstrates that it takes only one person to fight for a more inclusive and welcoming world. There is a responsibility for all Kelley students to understand how they can positively influence businesses and corporations—Being Heumann is a blueprint for that leadership development.
Ajith Amba, BS’24, Kelley Student Government President
A copy of the book will be sent to the permanent address on file with Indiana University. (To check what address we have on file, please login to One.IU and go to your Student Center account. The address listed under "Student Home" is the one we will use. Please make sure your address is current.) Books will begin shipping by the end of May. Please allow two weeks for shipping.
No. Books are only provided to students directly admitted to the Kelley School of Business.
At this time, books will only be provided to incoming Kelley Direct Admit students.
Yes. Incoming Kelley Direct Admit international students will be able to pick up their book when they arrive in Bloomington for orientation.
A benefit of the Kelley Common Read is that reading the book is something you can have in common with other incoming Kelley students. Reading the book is strongly encouraged. For students who will be living in the Jellison Living Learning Center this year, the book is required as part of the T134 course.
Kelley makes each year’s selection centered on a topic outside typical classroom discussions, but still relevant for students of business.
Each year, the Kelley Common Read book is selected by a committee of Kelley faculty, staff, and student(s). They review numerous options. A variety of factors are considered and the committee members vote to determine the selection.
The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life
by Lauren Markham
Born A Crime
by Trevor Noah
Just Mercy
by Bryan Stevenson
Just Mercy was selected for the 2020 Common Read because of the relevant timing to many important discussions that are taking place on topics of equity and justice.
Educated: A Memoir
by Tara Westover
Just Mercy
by Bryan Stevenson
Door to Door
by Edward Humes
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
The Circle
by Dave Eggers
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
by Katherine Boo
Outcasts United
by Warren St. John