Common Read
The Honors College Common Read is a selection for all Honors College students that is used to foster a community-wide discussion on a contemporary social issue drawn from our Honors Unbound two-year thematic focus, which for 2026-28 is modern medicine: the quest for cures and the ethical dilemmas.
This year's Common Read book, chosen by a committee of Honors College students, faculty, and staff, is Dr. Ricardo Nuila's The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine. Dr. Nuila will be joining us on August 27th to talk with Honors College students.
About the Speaker
Dr. Ricardo Nuila is an author, educator and physician.
Over his decade-long career as a practicing physician, Dr. Nuila’s first-hand experiences have fueled his writing on health disparities, healthcare policy, and the interface between art and medicine. His acclaimed first book, The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine, details the stories of five Houstonians unable to access healthcare in his hometown of Houston, TX. Each patient eventually lands at Ben Taub Hospital, the county hospital where Dr. Nuila has worked and where he delves with empathy into the experiences of his patients and bears out Ben Taub’s innovative model, which emphasizes people over payments.
The People’s Hospital was selected as a semi-finalist for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and named one of the Best Books of 2023 by Amazon, Kirkus Review, and The Washington Post.
Dr. Nuila is also an associate professor of medicine, medical ethics, and health policy at Baylor College of Medicine, where he directs the Humanities Expression and Arts Lab [HEAL] program. His work and research on the use of arts and humanities in medical practice have been supported by the Association of American Medical Colleges, and he has received fellowships for his writing from MacDowell, Yaddo, the Logan Nonfiction Program, and the Texas Institute of Letters. His features and essays have appeared in Texas Monthly, The New York Times Sunday Review, VQR, TheAtlantic.com, and The New England Journal of Medicine. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, McSweeney’s, Guernica, and other magazines.
About the Event
All first-year students will attend a conversation between Dr. Ricardo Nuila and Honors College Faculty Fellow Dr. Humberto Jimenez, Clinical Associate Professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers Health. Dr. Jimenez works within an interdisciplinary team to advance the health, well-being, and dignity of those he serves at the St. Joseph’s University Medical Center.
The event will begin at 10AM in the President's Tent with all students engaging in the presentation and discussion, followed by small Community Conversations where they will have a chance to further explore the questions and topics with their peers and understand what it means to be a member of the Honors College community in coordination with our Common Read.
Community Conversations
11:15AM-12:45PM
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
12:45-2PM
VARIOUS LOCATIONS