On February 9, 2018, the Penguin Random House First-Year Reading Advisory Board convened for their annual summit the day before The First-Year Experience® Conference exhibit and sessions commenced. The Board members, representing a variety of public and private higher education institutions of varying sizes, came together to exchange ideas, and provide feedback and guidance.
Our seven board members, along with staff from the academic marketing departments, sales, and the PRH Speaker’s Bureau, participated in a day-long summit. We received valuable information about the opportunities and needs of common reading programs, as well as feedback on specific titles ideal for the academic space.
Before the summit, the FYE® board members completed a survey that helped guide our discussion for the day. We discussed ways in which PRH can better outfit commonreads.com to suit the needs to educators, the variable that impact a school’s FYE® reading selection, how these titles are dispensed to the students, inclusive access models, and courseware solutions.
PRH First-Year Reading Board Mission Statement:
“We are an advisory board of higher education professionals, representing a diversity of institutions and perspectives, who work in collaboration with Penguin Random House to support common reading initiatives.
For our publishing partners, we identify themes ideal for common reading; share our experiences and creative ideas; and provide feedback on relevant common reading topics.
For our institutional and community partners, we develop resources that support common reading and help to elevate engagement and literacy among students, faculty, and the campus community; provide best practices and programming models tied to demonstrating each program’s desired outcomes; and exchange ideas to advance the future of common reading programs.”
2017 PRH First-Year Reading Advisory Board (in alphabetical order):
- Janet Casey, Skidmore College
- Elizabeth Gales, North Iowa Area Community College
- Edwin Mayes, Case Western Reserve University (not pictured)
- Erika K. Nielson Vargas, Texas State University
- Bernie Savarese, New York University (not pictured)
- Shelia Stoeckel, University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Jonathan Wynn, UMASS Amherst
As always, we are appreciative to those who have come before, and have helped lay the foundation for the Board:
PRH First-Year Reading Advisory Board Emeritus:
- Rebecca Campbell, Northern Arizona University
- Tara Coleman, Kansas State University Libraries
- Steven Girardot, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Jennifer Latino, Campbell University, Ellucian (present)
- Marjorie Litchford, Smith College
- Abby Nobili, University of Central Florida, Valencia College (present)
- Daphne Rankin, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Jared Tippets, Purdue University, Southern Utah State University (present)
