A Foundational First Year Book

The University of Maryland’s 2025-26 First Year Book is slimmer than in past years and lacks a boldfaced author’s name—it’s hard to fit dozens on a cover—but its 48 pages touch our lives in profound ways every day.

Organizers of the program, which annually invites incoming freshmen to read and engage with a thought-provoking work, this year selected the Constitution of the United States (Smithsonian edition), offering an opportunity to examine the foundations of the nation’s democracy ahead of the 250^th anniversary of its independence. 

To help promote the selection, the program will celebrate Constitution Day on campus Wednesday with interactive civic engagement activities, voter registration opportunities and a series of presentations led by faculty experts.

“Our goal is to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to understand the Constitution, to uphold its principles and to encourage their active participation in our democracy,” said Leeanne Dunsmore, director of strategic initiatives in the Office of Undergraduate Studies, who oversees the First Year Book program. “This is one way for UMD to serve the public good.”

Since 1993, the program has assembled a committee of students, faculty and staff to choose each year’s book, looking for themes that cut across disciplines, encourage debate and explore timely issues. Past books have included “Lincoln at Gettysburg” by Garry Wills, “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson and “Poverty, by America” by Matthew Desmond.

This year’s selection offers plenty of opportunities for faculty members to incorporate it into their classes, said history Professor Michael Ross. While applications in his constitutional history course are obvious, he and program organizers envision relevant uses of the document in English, economics, public health and beyond. President Darryll J. Pines, too, will again cover the First Year Book in his “Grand Challenges of Our Time” class this fall for first-year students. 

Beyond the classroom, UMD’s Constitution Day celebration, “We the Terps: A Day With the U.S. Constitution,” will serve as the First Year Book’s main programming event. In addition to button-making, a TerpsVote registration drive and a UMD Special Collections showcase of on-campus activism, the event will also include a four-part “TerpTalk” about key constitutional concepts:

• “The Body of the Constitution,” led by Ross
• “The Bill of Rights,” led by history Associate Professor Holly Brewer
• “The 14^th Amendment,” led by Ross
• “The Constitution in Modern America,” a panel discussion with government and politics Senior Lecturer Michael Spivey, MLaw Programs Director Robert Koulish and government and politics Professor Patrick Wohlfarth, moderated by Senior Associate General Counsel Laura Anderson Wright

Other upcoming First Year Book events include a Family Weekend Constitution talk, where students, parents and visitors can engage in a conversation and Q&A led by communication Professor Shawn Parry-Giles, as well as a Stamp film series highlighting constitutional topics, with screenings accompanied by guided discussions.

“We are certainly in a constitutional moment right now. Every day, there’s another issue where the Constitution is in play, and there are discussions about whose interpretation of the Constitution is correct,” Ross said. “It feels like a moment where University of Maryland students and faculty should engage with our nation’s founding document.”