To: The University community
From: Sally Reis, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and vice provost for academic administration

Last month, President Herbst announced UConn Reads, a new university initiative intended to stimulate conversation, argument, and respectful debate in our intellectual community. President Herbst and I believe that this program will highlight our university as an institution that learns together.

UConn Reads Steering Committee
Sally Reis (chair)
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, and vice provost for academic administration
Anne D’Alleva
Associate professor of art history and women’s studies
Geno Auriemma
Women’s basketball head coach
Robert Colbert
Associate professor of educational psychology
Elizabeth Cracco
Assistant director and coordinator of clinical services, Counseling and Mental Health Services
Francine DeFranco
Director for library research services program, University of Connecticut Libraries
Nicholas Gelbar
Doctoral student representing the Graduate Student Senate
Joseph Griffith
Director of code enforcement and compliance, Division of Public and Environmental Safety
Janet Lowe
Tech support II/web developer, Center for Continuing Studies
Joyce McSweeney
Assistant to the vice provost and IT leader, University Information Technology Services
Milagros Marraro-Johnson
Director, Office of Student Service, School of Social Work
Wendy Salisbury
Accounting manager, Facilities Operations
Kate Smith
Undergraduate Student Government representative, English department

I write today to announce the steering committee for UConn Reads. Members of the steering committee will work together with key representatives from our colleges and schools, campuses, the Alumni Association, our donors, and the UConn community at large. The committee will review all nominations and announce the UConn Reads book by Thanksgiving. During the spring semester, we will host numerous events and discussion groups for faculty, staff, students, alumni, and members of the UConn community.

A dedicated website will soon be available and will provide current information about UConn Reads programs, discussions, and resources. To date, we have received over 60 nominations of wonderfully diverse books, including:

• The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, by Lawrence Wright
• The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All The Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better, by Tyler Cowen
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
• The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains, by Nicholas Carr
• Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson.

In the upcoming months, we will also contact persons nominated by their deans to serve as School or College organizers and leaders, to seek their input and ideas for discussion groups among faculty, staff, and alumni.

In the meantime, please keep those book nominations coming by sending them to uconnreads@uconn.edu by Oct. 1. Thank you and we look forward to an exciting period of discussion and debate as we implement UConn Reads.