A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.599.3142. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: Oct. 10 All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, campus correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Tatiana Shehadeh, special contributor; Nick Young, photography and layout
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College reels in 'Big Fish'
By Stephanie Hall
Student Correspondent
 Daniel Wallace, the writer of the acclaimed book Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions will be a guest speaker at Collin Tuesday, Oct. 17. His visit is a part of a series of stimulating events that will focus around his book throughout the year. These events are a part of Collin’s new Book-In-Common program.
In the spirit of academic growth, a handful of professors developed this program, which is intended to foster a community where teachers and students from all disciplines can come together in one college-wide learning program. Professors of English Lauryn Angel-Cann, Delores Zumwalt and Betty Bettacchi developed Book-In-Common with the backing of the Center for Scholarly & Civic Engagement, the Honors Institute and the Communication and Humanities Division at Collin.
“Essentially, the purpose of the Collin Book-In-Common program is to get as many of our students as possible to read the same book,” said Angel-Cann. “Many schools – including four-year institutions and high schools – have discovered that a common reading program has enhanced the educational experience for students of all levels.”
Regina Hughes, the director of CSCE, initially brought up the idea in the 2005-2006 academic year after she had attended a conference a learned about reading programs from other schools and universities, she said.
“Research indicates that students who share common learning experiences that allow for multiple venues for discussion, both inside and outside the classroom, tend to retain the material discussed,” she said. “This follows basic learning theory and logic: the more opportunities to listen, discuss and learn about a topic, the more learning will take place.”
During a New Faculty Welcome Breakfast last year at Collin, Hughes presented her findings and requested assistance from her colleagues. Many answered her call.
“The commitment and passion for this initiative demonstrated by Collin professors Betty Bettacchi, Lauryn Angel-Cann, and Delores Zumwalt and the support of Dr. Thom Chesney, Dr. Gerry Perkus, Shirley McBride, and Professor Scott Yarbrough have been critical in bringing this idea to reality,” said Hughes. Once the team had developed the idea into a plan, they set out to find the perfect book to launch their new program.
“The committee chose Daniel Wallace's 'Big Fish' because we feel that it will appeal to a wide variety of disciplines,” said Angel-Cann. “While it's an intellectually challenging book, it's not necessarily a difficult read, and it's very engaging,” she said. “It also has the benefit of being about topics we can all relate to on some level: understanding our parents, fiction versus reality.”
These professors then developed a strategy to get as many students involved as possible.
“More than 30 faculty here at Collin have already committed to participating in the program this fall,” said Zumwalt. “Faculty members will commit to incorporating the book in some way into their curriculum for the year.” Most professors teach five classes each semester, and each class has about 24 students, she said. “We hope that as students read and carry around the same book, that that book will be the catalyst for interaction with fellow students and faculty both inside and outside of the classroom.”
The Book-In-Common program is “exciting,” especially with the author’s visit, said Hughes.
“Wouldn't we all have liked the chance to talk with the likes of Homer, Aristotle, Copernicus, Galileo, Machiavelli, Tolstoy, Sartre, Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen, Orwell, Thoreau, Rand, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Cather, Lawrence, Jung, Einstein, or Twain? Imagine what an impact the stories they told would have had on our learning,” she said. “How many students would be inspired to read more, write more, and learn more? Perhaps an author with the talent from the likes of those I’ve mentioned will hail from Collin.”
This semester’s Book-In-Common events include:
- Wednesday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. – a screening of Tim Burton’s “Big Fish” in conjunction with the Auteur Film Series at the Angelika Film Center.
- Monday, Oct. 16, 10 a.m. – “Baiting the Hook: Honors Institute Pre-Visit Roundtable,” a pre-author roundtable discussion hosted by the Honors Institute at the Spring Creek Campus Conference Center.
- Tuesday, Oct. 17, 7 p.m. – “Reeling It In: Author Visit and Book Signing.” Wallace will give a lecture, hold a question-and-answer session, sign books and answer questions.
- Thursday, Nov. 9, 2-3 p.m. – "Catch & Release: Reflections on ‘Big Fish’" at the Spring Creek Campus Conference Center.
For more information, please contact Betty Bettacchi at 972.881.5730, Delores Zumwalt at 972.881.5954 or Lauryn Angel-Cann at 972.377.1514
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