Common Ground Reading Initiative

Common Ground is the college’s freshman-year reading program. The purpose of the program is to give the 900 incoming freshmen an opportunity to create community based on a shared reading experience. Books are provided to freshmen at their summer new student conference and asked to read the book before returning for fall classes.  

2012 Reading Selection: Scratch Beginnings

This year’s Common Ground book is Scratch Beginnings by Adam Shepard. The book describes the author's journey to determine if the American Dream still exists. Carrying only a sleeping bag, $25, and the clothes on his back, Shepard sets out to work his way out of homelessness and into a life that will offer him the opportunity of success. 

Adam Shepard will speak to Liberal Arts freshman on Monday, October 8 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. He will sign books after his talk. The event is free and open to the public. Parking will be available at the George Bush Presidential Library.

Professors, download a Common Ground Powerpoint slide to use in your presentations!

Find more information about Common Ground on Facebook.

FAQ’s 

• Why did we create Common Ground?
  
  Research on student learning in higher education has emphasized several themes that are addressed by a program such as Common Ground: the importance of first-year experiences; the engagement of students in their undergraduate education; the effectiveness of integrating in-class and out-of-class experiences; the significance of intellectual challenge. The College of Liberal Arts believes that Common Ground provides opportunities for all of these important learning experiences in enriching undergraduate learning, especially for the first year.
  
  
• Do other universities have programs like Common Ground?
  
  Yes, many other universities have had a common reading program for several years and have successfully documented these efforts as educationally sound ways to enhance undergraduate education. 

• What do we hope to accomplish with Common Ground?
  
  The College of Liberal Arts seeks to create a community that fosters intellectual and social development within the context of our large and diverse university campus.  Through Common Ground, students can expect to become sharper readers; to have a greater understanding of diversity; to experience the camaraderie that comes with a shared reading experience; to gain a greater appetite for intellectual challenge; to participate in a national educational movement; and to experience first-hand the excitement of hearing a nationally-recognized author of a book they have studied.