The Campus Community Book Project's first book discussion is scheduled from 11 a.m. to noon Oct. 24 at the Cross Cultural Center on Peter J. Shields Avenue just east of the Quad. Like most book project events, the discussion is free and open to the public. (The only event for which there is a charge is the author's evening address, at 8 p.m. Dec. 1.)

This year's book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder, addresses global health care and poverty.

Kidder tells the story of Paul Farmer, a Boston physician who co-founded Partners in Health in Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries.

To help promote the campus conversation, the Office of Campus Community Relations annually organizes a number of activities culminating in the author's visit to campus. Activities include lectures, book discussions, films and art exhibitions. The calendar also includes the World AIDS Day Rally, an annual event that happens to relate to this year's book topic, and Human Corps' Weekend in Service, which this year will focus on health and hunger.

OTHER UPCOMING PROGRAMS

Oct. 29 -- Poverty and Obesity: The Challenge in Accessing Healthy Foods Among the Poorest. Presented by Diana Cassady, Public Health Sciences. Noon -1 p.m., Mee Room, MU.

Oct. 30 -- Speaking From the Body: Latina Narratives of Health. Presented by Adela de la Torre, Chicana/o Studies. Noon-1 p.m., 2222 Education Building (Sacramento Campus).

EXHIBITS

Photography -- Haiti's Hope, by Leisa Faulkner, with three themes in three venues:

-- Lavalas and the Preferential Option for the Poor -- Hart Hall (first floor), through Dec. 16.

-- Poverty With Dignity -- Mondavi Center (lobby and Studio Theatre), through Dec. 2.

-- Shada's Story -- The Gallery, MU, through Dec. 16.

Texts, images, books and newspaper headlines -- Haiti in the 20th Century, Shields Library (first floor), now-Dec. 1.

AUTHOR'S VISIT

Dec. 1 -- Panel discussion: "No Boundaries -- Globalizing Health Care from Haiti to California and Beyond." Moderated by Michael Wilkes, School of Medicine. 4-5 p.m., Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

Dec. 1 -- Author's address: "The Problem With Goodness -- The Story of Paul Farmer." 8 p.m., Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center. Followed by book signing. Tickets required: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or www.mondaviarts.org.

See the complete schedule.

The campus bookstore is selling the paperback at a discounted price of $9.95.