Albom to speak at welcome

Mitch Albom

Author and sportswriter Mitch Albom will share his “lessons for life” Tuesday as the first outside speaker to address new UW–Madison students at the annual Chancellor’s Convocation for freshmen.

Albom, whose 1997-98 best-seller “Tuesdays With Morrie” chronicled Albom’s life-changing friendship with his college mentor, is scheduled to speak at noon at the Kohl Center. The free event is intended for new students and seating will be reserved for them. Faculty, staff and the public are welcome. No tickets are required.

Albom’s talk, the signature event of Wisconsin Welcome Week, also serves to help kick off UW–Madison’s sesquicentennial year.

A sports columnist with the Detroit Free Press since 1985, Albom, 39, has been voted the top sports columnist in the nation by his peers for 11 of the last 12 years. “Tuesdays With Morrie” tells the story of Albom’s inspiring relationship with Morrie Schwartz, his former sociology professor at Brandeis University. Some 16 years out of college, Albom rekindled his friendship with Schwartz, who was dying of Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

The book, which explores the simple power of relationships and a quest for deeper meaning in life, became a No. 1 New York Times non-fiction best- seller. Albom’s appearance is made possible by the UW Credit Union.

Wisconsin Welcome is 10 years old this year, and has grown considerably since 1988, when it began as a single event in Camp Randall Stadium. Today there are scores of activities to help new students get acquainted with each other and the university.

Faculty and staff are invited to attend the Multicultural Orientation Reception on Tuesday, Sept. 1, from 7 to 10 p.m. The event, designed to welcome new students of color to campus, will begin with a program in the Union Theater featuring music and dance from African American, Asian American, American Indian, Chicano and Puerto Rican cultures. The reception and a Student Organization Fair will be held in the Memorial Union’s second-floor Main Lounge immediately following the program.

Some of the university’s top faculty will participate in the Wisconsin Welcome lecture series Sunday and Monday. Many schools, departments and libraries will hold open houses, receptions and tours during the next several weeks. University Health Services will offer students live music and free chair massages on Library Mall Monday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Tuesday, 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

For detailed information on Wisconsin Welcome activities, contact the Office of Student Orientation Programs, 263-0367, or visit their Web site.