College-Wide Reading Program
The College-Wide Reading Program is an initiative intended to provide a common reading that encourages thought, discussion, and collaboration at Delaware County Community College. All members of the College community are invited to nominate books for the program and to participate in related activities throughout the academic year.
2023-2024 Book
The College-Wide Reading Committee has selected "Mental Health in the 21st Century" as our theme for the 2023-2024 academic year, and the book we'll be reading to explore this theme is Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas by Alexi Pappas.
Alexi Pappas is a woman of many talents; she is an Olympic runner, acclaimed writer, and dynamic actor. In her memoir, Bravey, Pappas shares both her most triumphant and her most vulnerable moments: the devastating loss of her mother to suicide, her record-setting performance at the 2016 Olympics, her struggle with severe depression, her treatment and recovery, and the making of her first movie with her partner, Jeremy Teicher. Bravey is also loaded with practical wisdom about how one can pursue bold and ambitious goals without losing sight of one’s health and wellbeing.
For more information about the book (including how to obtain a copy) or about the College-Wide Reading Program, please contact Professor Matthew Brophy (mbrophy4@dccc.edu), DCCC’s Faculty Fellow for College-Wide Reading.
Upcoming Events
Changing Minds: Stories over Stigma
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Marple Campus, Academic Building, Small Auditorium / Virtual
The Weight of Gold: Movie and Discussion
Thursday, November 2, 2023
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Downingtown Center, Room 201
Suicide Awareness & Prevention
Thursday, November 30, 2023
11:10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Marple Campus, STEM Center Auditorium / Virtual
Follow College-Wide Reading on Facebook and Instagram in order to stay up-to-date about upcoming speakers, film screenings, contests, and other fun, interactive events.
Past Events
- We Can Fix It: A Climate Conversation with Dr. Kim Nicholas
- Getting Beneath the Antarctic Ice with Dr. Atsuhiro Muto
- Becoming Weatherwise: Virtual Tour of APS Museum in Philadelphia
- Do the Math: The Climate Activism of Bill McKibben
- Climate Equity Talk with Hana Creger
- Screening and Discussion of "I Am Not Your Negro"
- Musical Artist Kendrah Butler-Waters
- Philadelphia Poet Yolanda Wisher
About the Program
The goals of the program include:
- Promoting a habit of reading
- Encouraging the exploration of diverse experiences and perspectives
- Providing a common discussion point for all members of the College community
- Readable by our entire population, including developmental and ESL students
- Available in paperback
- Cross-disciplinary appeal
- Ability to be incorporated into curricular and extracurricular activities
- Presents diverse or unique perspective
History
The College-Wide Reading Program began as the brainchild of the Reading department in the spring semester of 2003. James McBride spoke on campus at the request of faculty who were teaching his memoir The Color of Water. After the success of the author’s visit, Professor Lisa Barnes worked with fellow Reading Professors Dianne Shames, Sandy Connelly and Valerie Schantz to expand the reach of the program.
The first college-wide book selection was The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (chosen by a committee of librarians, the Reading department, and English faculty volunteers). This book ran from spring 2004 to fall 2004. Discussion groups were led by members of faculty and staff from various departments and events began around the book, including serving the food mentioned in the book at a small reception. Swarup Raman gave a seminar on issues of immigration raised in Lahiri’s book.
For the next year’s pick, the program moved to following the academic year (to facilitate faculty adoption). The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime was chosen for the fall semester of 2005 through spring 2006. This year saw the first larger scale "tie-in" events co-sponsored by the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. Math Professors Dotty Russo and Jill Spellina delivered a seminar on the importance of numbers in the book. Then-Director of the Office of Disability Services, Ann Binder, spoke about students with learning differences and the program hosted an essay competition.
Things Fall Apart was selected in 2006-2007; at this point, librarians began to prepare Library Guides for the program (available via the links above). Flags of Our Fathers began in partnership with the Delaware County Library System (DCLS) in 2007-2008.
With Courage and Cloth and Having Our Say were chosen for 2008-2009. There was an additional author visit by Chris Bohjalian (who wrote Skeletons at the Feast) as a tie-in appearance sponsored by a Big Read grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the partnership with DCLS.
The Glass Castle was chosen as the 2010-2011 choice. Over the years, the program has evolved and its name has changed from the One-Book One-College program to its current name, the College-Wide Reading Program. Titles were not selected in 2009-10 or 2014-15.
The College-wide Reading Program is now housed under the Institutional Diversity Committee. The current Faculty Fellow for College-Wide Reading is Professor Matthew Brophy. Past fellows include Professor Liz Gray, Tina Shaffer of The Virginia M. Carter Center for Excellence in Teaching, and Librarian Ellie Goldberg.
Titles
2022-2023
Under the Sky We Make
By Kimberly Nicholas, PhD
2020-2021
About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times
Edited by Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson
2019-2020
The Secret History of Wonder Woman
Jill Lepore
2018-2019
Stuffed and Starved
By Raj Patel
2017-2018
Just Mercy
By Bryan Stephenson
2016-2017
Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa
by Rigoberto González
2015-2016
Garbology
by Edward Humes
2013-2014: Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegria Hudes
2012-2013: Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
2011-2012: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
2010-2011: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
2008-2009: With Courage and Cloth by Ann Bausum and Having Our Say by Sarah L. Delany, A. Elizabeth Delany and Amy Hill Hearth
2007-2008: Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley (with Ron Powers)
2006-2007: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
