Purdue continues to utilize reading program
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A book about friendship in Kabul, Afghanistan, has been selected for Purdue's campus-wide reading program to help new students adjust to the university by sharing a common academic experience.
Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" will be given to each freshman or transfer student who enters the university next fall as part of the 2010-2011 Common Reading Program. The announcement was made Wednesday (Feb. 24) at the Academic Leadership Forum.
"Reading the same book and then gathering for discussion does much more than get everyone on the same page. It is a shared experience that brings people together, encourages an exchange of perspective and opinion, and often inspires," Purdue President France A. Córdova said. "This program is one of many Purdue resources that helps students transition to the university environment and its wonderful diversity. The related activities, classes and discussion foster involvement in campus activities, connect them with faculty members and promote learning from others."
Last year's selection, "Stealing Buddha's Dinner" by Purdue professor Bich Minh Nguyen, was distributed to freshman and transfer students during the summer transition, advising and registration program, known as STAR.
"We recently completed surveying freshman and transfer students about their experiences with the common reading program," says Andrew Koch, director of the student access, transition and success program. "We know that nearly 85 percent of the students reported that they read the book, and nearly a quarter of all students reported using it in conjunction with one or more of their courses this fall such as Management 100 and English 106."
One of the out-of-class activities included using the book in the popular freshman orientation program Boiler Gold Rush. More than 5,000 students participated in book discussions led by the 435 Boiler Gold Rush team leaders. In addition, 4,500 students attended a convocation on the Sunday before the start of classes to hear an address by the author and additional comments by Randy Woodson, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.
"The students also shared that the common reading program conveyed a sense of high institutional expectations," said Sharon Weiner, the Wayne Booker Endowed Chair in Information Literacy and Professor of Library Science who co-chairs the common reading program with Koch. "And research shows that high expectations are directly correlated with greater student success inside and outside the classroom, and, ultimately, higher retention rates."
Copies of "The Kite Runner" will be available at Purdue Libraries soon. More information about the common reading program is available at https://www.purdue.edu/sats/commonreading/
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Sources: France A. Córdova, president@purdue.edu
Andrew K. Koch, 765-494-2451, akkoch@purdue.edu
Sharon A. Weiner, 765-496-3128, sweiner@purdue.edu