<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1lTcyA_1FNGe1FU00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1lTcyA_1FNGe1FU00" width="272" height="400" ><figcaption>Image courtesy of Washburn University</figcaption></figure>Washburn University’s iRead program will bring students and the campus community together through a shared reading experience during the 2026-27 academic year. The iRead lecture is open to the entire Washburn community and will be held from 7-8 p.m. Sept. 21 at White Concert Hall. The program, coordinated by University Libraries, selected “The Memory Book” by Lara Avery as this year’s featured book, with professors encouraged to incorporate it into their fall 2026 courses and the library hosting events centered on the book.Sean Bird, dean of universities libraries and Center for Student Success &amp; Retention, described the iRead as Washburn University’s version of a common reading program, an initiative used by colleges and universities across the country. Bird said the program gives students an opportunity to read the same book, reflect on themes related to humanity and how people respond to challenges and adversity, and have conversations with others across campus. Through WU 101 , students discuss the book and consider what its themes mean to them individually and as a community.“I think it allows us to understand that people are alike, that we have similar interests, we have similar challenges, and that we do not overcome those challenges or that adversity by ourselves,” Bird said. “We do it by having reliance on other people, and I think that having an opportunity to talk about characters in books and how those characters were able to overcome adversity is an opportunity for us to, in a way, practice how we might be able to do that in our real lives.”Bird said participation in the iRead event is required for WU 101 students because of the importance of the experience, but students who cannot attend because of work, athletic commitments or music practices will be able to watch a recording of the event and complete an assignment to receive a similar experience.Steve Hageman, director of the First Year Experience Center for Student Success and Retention, described why they chose the memory book for the iRead this year.“I think one of the things is we always like to have a kind of, if possible, a Kansas connection,” Hageman said. “And Lara Avery, the author, is a Topeka native. She is the new director of the Kansas Book Festival, which the iRead lecture is part of the Kansas Book Festival week. […] But also, I think in some ways the story, the memory book, the story has some themes and some kind of ideas.”Hageman said a common reading experience can help first-year students build connections by giving them shared topics to discuss across WU 101 classes and sections. He said he hopes students will continue these conversations outside the classroom, including in residence halls and other common spaces, allowing discussions about the book to become a shared experience among first-year students.“I think the iRead program for me, it really encourages students to dream big,” said Jennifer Wiard, associate dean of the Center for Student Success &amp; Retention. “Every time I’ve been to one of these lectures for the last 10 years, there’s students in my class, who maybe had a twinkling of an idea that they would like to be a writer or an author, and going to this lecture gives them hope and inspiration that writing is possible. And it doesn’t matter your age; it doesn’t matter where you come from.”Students will also have the opportunity to meet Avery after the lecture and have their copies of “The Memory Book” signed, creating a chance to interact directly with the author. The event will give students, faculty and staff an opportunity to hear from Avery and continue conversations about the book beyond the classroom.Edited by Eden Conrad and Isaac Woood</div></body>

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Washburn University’s iRead program will bring students and the campus community together through a shared reading experience during the 2026-27 academic year. The iRead lecture is open to the entire Washburn community and will be held from 7-8 p.m. Sept. 21 at White Concert Hall. The program, coordinated by...

iRead opens doors through reading

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Washburn University’s iRead program will bring students and the campus community together through a shared reading experience during the 2026-27 academic y

iRead opens doors through reading

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