ONE BOOK, ONE DU
Kelly Bitner
Assistant Director, Student Activities, Campus Life and Inclusive Excellence
Alejandro Ceron
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Frederique Chevillot
Associate Professor, Languages and Literatures
David Daniels
Teaching Associate Professor, Writing Program
Heather Martin
Teaching Associate Professor, Writing Program and First-Year Seminar Faculty Director
Keith Miller
Associate Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Director, Honors Program
Leah O’Grady
Program Coordinator, Academic Programs, Office of the Provost
Lauren Picard, Chair
Teaching Associate Professor, Writing Program
Blake Schapiro
Undergraduate Student, Senator, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, Chairman, Faculty and Academic Affairs Committee
Paul Sutton
Professor, Geography and the Environment, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Rachel Walsh
Associate Professor, Department of Languages and Literatures, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Through the shared intellectual experience of reading and responding to a shared text, DU IMPACT 2025’s One Book, One DU program seeks to provide space for our community to:
- reflect upon our backgrounds and how these influence our personal values and beliefs,
- explore our personal and social identities,
- wrestle with the challenges and rewards of building a truly diverse and inclusive community, and
- consider how to respect and celebrate members of our community with vastly different life experiences and perspectives.
ONE BOOK, ONE DU
In 2016, our community elected to begin a common reading program. The idea emerged from the listening stage of the strategic planning process. During the Chancellor’s listening tour, students expressed a desire for more shared intellectual experiences and more opportunities for engagement. One Book, One DU combines two High-Impact Educational Practices – First-Year Seminars and Common Intellectual Experiences – to foster community building, critical thinking and self-awareness.
Over the summer, incoming students receive a free copy of our One Book selection – a customized edition that includes a welcome letter from Chancellor Chopp. The book becomes a focal point of Discoveries Week through FSEM Dialgoues Sessions and the All-Campus Lectures series. Undergraduate Academic Programs host One Book programming throughout the year, such as this year’s campus visit by our One Book author, Molly Birnbaum.
Paired with the One Book selection is a shared storytelling experience. Incoming students are invited to respond to our One Prompt, inspired by the One Book selection. Other institutions with common reading programs will occasionally include a writing activity – typically an analytical essay contest. What makes One Book, One DU unique is we invite students to share stories and actively join rich conversations on campus.
The University is pleased to announce the 2019-20 One Book, One DU selection: The Newcomers by Helen Thorpe. The Newcomers follows a year in the lives of twenty-two immigrant teenagers enrolled together in an English Language Acquisitions class at Denver’s South High School—located just over a mile north of DU. Ranging in age from fourteen to nineteen years old, these newcomers have come from nations convulsed by drought or famine or war. Over the course of the 2015-2016 school year, these students adapt to life in the USA as they navigate teenage hopes, dreams, and fears. The Newcomers is a powerful and moving account of how refugee teenagers build a new foundation, confidence, and understanding of what it means to be American.
Learn More!
Recent Comments