I’ve served as primary coordinator for One Campus, One Book (OCOB) since 2014. OCOB is the common reading program at UAS-Juneau. It’s a celebration of literature and the relationships and communities that develop between readers and writers. Discussing a common book can also provide a safe venue for beginning difficult dialogues. The program grew out of the Student Success Forum with the goal of helping foster community and compassion on campus. The program’s first year (2010) featured David Issay’s Listening is an Act of Love and a corresponding campus oral history project ( The UAS Listening Project) collected the stories of students, faculty and staff. In 2012 the program was formalized as a program of the Egan Library, a selection committee established and in 2013 these program goals and criteria were adopted.
Goals:
The UAS One Campus, One Book program will:
- Begin an exploration of interdisciplinary approaches
- Create opportunities for learning in and out of the classroom.
- Foster student, staff and community participation and identification as contributing members of an intellectual community.
- Promote reading and “foster a page-turning togetherness.”*
*based on DC We Read 2009
The One Campus, One Book (OCOB) program aligns with the mission and goals of the UAS First Year Experience (FYE) Program to support academic success and persistence, ease educational and social transitions to college, and foster student engagement in the UAS Community. OCOB activities incorporate two FYE student learning outcomes:
First year students participating in OCOB activities will:
Develop a strong network of peers and professionals including:
- One faculty member they consider a mentor
- One staff member they feel can offer support
- Five peers that are conducive to their social and academic success
- Develop strong connections to the UAS campus by attending at least five events on the Don’t Miss List