DEI Common Read Reaches 1,000 Participants!

The Office of DEI and the DEI Common Read Working Group are in celebration mode! Congratulations to Hope Mathis, executive assistant in Strategy, Research and Workforce Innovation, for being the thousandth person to sign up to participate in the DEI Common Read! Reaching 1,000 participants is a huge milestone for this inaugural initiative, and we are overjoyed by the interest of our students, staff and faculty in promoting a sense of belonging through participating in this shared activity!

By way of reminder, The DEI Common Read book is Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. The book is free and available for pick up in all campus libraries. All NOVA students, staff and faculty are invited to read the book together and engage with one another about what we’re reading. Participation is optional, but a great way to promote a sense of belonging in our community.

Erica Phillips, Office of Wellness and Mental Health, and Sherrene DeLong, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, offer processing spaces weekly, rotating in-person and virtually, in order to provide informal community time to chat about some of the more challenging themes in the book. More structured book discussions are also available in-person and virtually. You can find out more information on the Canvas site for faculty and staff. Self-enroll here. 

Shout out to all the faculty who are using this book in your classes! Thank you so much for participating in this activity.

For more information about the DEI Common Read, please contact Sherrene DeLong (SDeLong@nvcc.edu).

Submitted by:
Sherrene DeLong, DEI-Events Coordinator, SDeLong@nvcc.edu