Camarillo, CA - CSU Channel Islands (CI) will welcome best-selling author Charles Fishman for the Ninth Annual Campus Reading Celebration, Thursday, Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Salon.

The Campus Reading Celebration is an annual event that unites the campus, community and notable authors in a shared intellectual experience. Fishman’s latest book, The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water, was selected by CI students, faculty and staff as this year’s Campus Reading Celebration book. Heralded by Publishers Weekly as “an engrossing, globe-trotting narrative [and] a comprehensive, remarkably readable panorama of our dependence on – and responsibilities to – a priceless resource,” the book brilliantly explores our strange and complex relationship to water, redefining how we look at our most essential and misunderstood resource. Fishman’s previous book, the New York Times best-seller The Wal-Mart Effect, was the first to crack open Wal-Mart’s wall of secrecy, and has become the standard for understanding Wal-Mart’s impact on our economy and on how we live. The Economist named it a “Book of the Year.” Fishman is also an award-winning investigative journalist who has written for Fast Company, National Geographic, the Washington Post, the Orlando Sentinel and the Raleigh News & Observer.

The event will include Fishman’s presentation, a Q&A session with the audience, a book signing, and a light reception. Registration is required online at www.csuci.edu/crc. Admission is free for CI students, faculty and staff; $5 for all other students; and $10 for the public. Copies of Fishman’s book will be available for sale and signing at the event and in advance at the Cove Bookstore on the CI campus.

In addition to his presentation on the 10th, Fishman plans to join students from CI’s Environmental Science & Resource Management program on Wednesday, Oct. 9, as they tour Oxnard’s Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF) and discuss water conservation and management.

Complimentary event parking is limited and only available in the designated parking lot on campus. Free parking is also available at the Camarillo Metrolink/Lewis Road parking lot with bus service to and from the campus. In order to waive bus fares, riders should present their event registration confirmation when boarding the CI Vista Bus; otherwise, the cash-only bus fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes, Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at: www.goventura.gov.

For additional information, visit www.csuci.edu/crc or contact Merissa Stith, Events Coordinator, at 805-437-8548 or merissa.stith@csuci.edu.

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more about CI by visiting CI’s Social Media.