To the Class of 2009 
As a recent UNH graduate of the Class of 2005, I wanted to take this time to welcome you to the University Dialogue. This fall you will join UNH students, faculty, staff, and alumni, in a dynamic learning community where the emphasis is on exploration and discovery. The choices that you make to become involved and engaged, both inside and outside of the classroom, will benefit you greatly during your years at UNH and beyond. One of the most wonderful things about college is that this is a time in your life set aside for and dedicated to learning, talking, asking questions, sharing your ideas, and thinking in new ways. You won’t be able now to imagine just how significantly these next four years of your life will change you –the way you think about yourself, your abilities, your dreams, and your world –should you choose to take advantage of the opportunities afforded you.
The University Dialogue is one such opportunity for intellectual engagement. The following short papers in this packet are designed to introduce you to various topics pertaining to the theme: “Where in the World is UNH? A University Dialogue on Globalization.” Each paper approaches globalization from a different perspective, showing how one issue can be explored from the vantage point of many different disciplines, from the humanities to environmental science, human rights to business and economics. Each paper is written by a member of the UNH faculty – people that you will come to know throughout your academic career here, people with exciting and varied scholarly and personal interests who will help you develop and pursue your own.
Perhaps never before has the issue of globalization and what it means for us been so relevant. Our generation, coming of age in the 21st century, will face both new and exciting prospects, difficult changes, and possibly dangerous situations as a result of the forces of globalization sweeping the world. Globalization has effects that are truly global in scope, affecting much of the world’s population, yet many of the questions that globalization raises deal with life at a national, local, and even personal level. It is important that as students and as citizens of the world we think about what a global future will be like- for this is, after all, a world that we will inherit.
I urge you to become engaged, right from the start of your first year, and continue your career at UNH in the spirit of engagement and inquiry. Good luck!
Sincerely,
Katie Whittemore
UNH Class of 2005