All Catawba College students enrolled in upper level Business and Communication courses will be required to read an inaugural common reading, "1,000 Dollars & An Idea" by Sam Wyly, in preparation for their Fall 2010 courses.

Professors in the Ketner School of Business will integrate the reading into their fall syllabi for the 2010-2011 academic year. Copies of the book were purchased for and distributed to all student enrolled in business and communication courses.

"1,000 Dollars and & Idea" is the autobiographic account of self-made billionaire Sam Wyly's rise to fame. Wyly grew up in Louisiana and studied journalism at Louisiana Tech. He won a scholarship to the University of Michigan Business School where he earned an MBA. Risking $1,000 of his savings, Wyly founded University Computing in 1963 and took it public two years later, becoming a millionaire at age 30. Throughout his memoir, Wyly shares decisions and strategies behind his business successes, including the founding of Sterling Software, growing the chains of Michaels Stores and Bonanza Steakhouses into nationwide brands and founding Green Mountain Energy.

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