What: The University of New Haven (UNH) will feature Greg Melville, author of the best-selling title, “Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fast Food Fueled Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future,” during Convocation exercises, as another record-setting freshman class is welcomed to campus on Move-in Day. “Greasy Rider” was selected as the 2009 Common Read selection thanks to inspiration from the University’s “Go Green” sustainability campaign. After considering over 40 titles nominated by UNH faculty, students and staff, the Common Read 2009 Committee chose Melville’s witty and informative tale of life on the road while going green. The Common Read program provides a common topic for discussion, intellectually engaging the UNH community of learners.

When: Sunday, August 23, 2009, 2:30 p.m.

Where: Bixler-Botwinik quad, UNH campus

Details: “Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fast Food Fueled Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future” is the chronicle of two friends who drive cross country with the goal of not stopping at a gas pump. Outfitted  with a 1985 Mercedes diesel station wagon –  with its engine converted to run on vegetable oil –  Melville, and his college friend Iggy, stopped at  the solar-powered Google headquarters; the wind turbines of southwestern Minnesota; one of the first houses to receive platinum certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); and a so-called “eco-friendly” Wal-Mart.

Melville is a freelance journalist, and former newspaper reporter and editor at Men’s Journal. He graduated from Kenyon College in 1992, and has written for such publications as The New York Times, National Geographic Adventure, Skiing, Popular Mechanics, Outside, Reader’s Digest and Money. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.