About the program

Students discussing Common Book in a circle

Purpose

The purpose of the KU Reads is to provide a platform for community conversations that center on grand challenges. Grand challenges are significant and complex issues that require concerted efforts to solve. The challenges typically transcend boundaries and affect multiple aspects of human life. Addressing grand challenges often requires interdisciplinary collaboration, innovative approaches, and long-term strategic planning. KU Reads will generate opportunities to center grand challenges by selecting books that tackle relevant societal issues and prompt discussions that encourage discerning crucial details, deep consideration, empathy, and collective problem-solving among participants. The KU community will read and learn together in order to take action and solve problems. The program has three goals:  

  • Build community among students, faculty, and staff
  • Encourage intellectual engagement through reading, discussion, curriculum, and events
  • Create a shared conversation about topics and issues of significance in today’s world

KU Reads is a shared experience among KU students in that it is integrated into general education courses that many students take.  In addition, the book is used in co-curricular activities such as small-group discussions and public speaker engagements.  Academic Affairs, the Libraries, and the Hall Center for the Humanities continue to partner to generate both curricular and co-curricular opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to engage with each year’s selection.    

The KU Reads Advisory Board is charged with oversight of the program including the nomination and selection processes, and communicating information about the program to the campus community. The Advisory Board is responsible for designing and implementing a coherent, integrated program that fosters awareness of and engagement with the book. 

2024-2025 KU Reads Advisory Board:

Giselle Anatol, Director, Hall Center for the Humanities *

Jill Becker, Head of the Center for Undergraduate Initiatives & Engagement, Libraries * 

Brad Allen, Director, Lawrence Public Library 

Margaret Baechle, Undergraduate Student 

Jane Barnette, Professor, Theater & Dance 

Millinda Fowles, Director, Academic Programs & Experiential Learning 

Ashley Kalatusha, Student Services, Specialist, Edwards Campus 

Kathleen Lane, Associate Vice Chancellor, Office of Research 

Tracey LaPierre, Associate Professor, Sociology 

Ward Lyles, Associate Professor, Public Affairs & Administration/Urban Planning 

Eliott Reeder, Program Coordinator, Hall Center for the Humanities 

Mary Jo Reiff, Professor, English 

Emily Ryan, Director, The Commons 

Jorge Soberon, University Distinguished Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 

Celka Straughn, Deputy Director for Public Practice and Curatorial, Mellon Director of Academic Programs, Spencer Museum of Art 

Nicholas Syrett, Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences 

Yayoi Shinoda, Graduate Student 

Wen Xin, Assistant Teaching Professor, English 

*Advisory Board Co-Chair