History
In October 2000 a Task Force on a Common Reading Program was formed by Faculty Assembly following a proposal from the Academic Policies Council to explore the feasibility of a summer reading initiative for the campus. Faculty and staff would incorporate the book selected into the early classroom experiences of students. The goal was to highlight through activities early in the academic year what we value as an academic community, including critical thinking, engagement with ideas, and interaction with faculty and staff. This task force then recommended to Faculty Assembly that the campus embark on this activity and that a permanent committee be established to select the book to be used for the first summer of operation. On September 10, 2001 the committee, after a great deal of work, narrowed down the list to five books, developed a website, and held open forums to discuss which book to pick. After extensive input from the campus, the book Haven by Ruth Gruber was chosen.
Committee
The ORI Committee has the following responsibilities:
- Development of a timeline for activities to begin the program
- Development of a procedure for book selection
- Select the book for the next year's program
- Plan for the provision of any auxiliary materials, including instructor guides for the integration of the material into class work
- Plan for supplemental activities to go along with the readings, including such things as activities for Summer Orientation and Opening Convocation.
- Plan for integration of the reading into classroom activities
Committee Membership
We are now recruiting for members to be on next year's reading committee. If you are interested in a summer of reading good books and discussing them with your colleagues, please consider being a part of the committee. Interested people should contact Rameen Mohammadi at [email protected].