On February 20, 2020, 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 five attending board members, along with staff from PRH Education, participated in a half-day 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.
We discussed how schools can prepare both students and staff for potentially triggering common reads, ways to share costs and build more inclusive programming by collaborating with high schools and community libraries, and general best practices.
2019 PRH First-Year Reading Advisory Board (in alphabetical order):
- Susanna Eng-Ziskin, California State University – Northridge
- Edwin Mayes, Case Western Reserve University
- La’Tonya Rease Miles, University of California Los Angeles
- Erika K. Nielson Vargas, Texas State University
- Bernie Savarese, New York University
- Shelia Stoeckel, University of Wisconsin – Madison
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
- Janet Casey, Skidmore College
- Tara Coleman, Kansas State University Libraries
- Liz Gales, Northern Iowa Area Community College
- Steven Girardot, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Jennifer Latino, Campbell University, Ellucian
- Marjorie Litchford, Smith College
- Abby Nobili, University of Central Florida, Valencia College
- Daphne Rankin, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Jared Tippets, Purdue University, Southern Utah State University
- Jonathan Wynn, UMASS Amherst
