About Us

Our Community Book Program offers everyone at Champlain—students, faculty, and staff—an experience in common. No matter what you do at Champlain, you can talk to someone else on campus about the book we're all reading each year.

Not only do we all have a topic of conversation in common, but each September we also have the opportunity to discuss the book with its author on campus. Over several days, the author teaches two or three classes relevant to the book and speaks two or three times to large groups. Authors typically read from their work and then offer listeners an opportunity to ask questions about the book, research, or writing in general.

A week or so before the writer arrives on campus, an afternoon of workshops addresses a wide variety of special interests in the book. Faculty, staff, and students present their unique approaches to the book in 50-minute, interactive sessions. You can pick and choose from among an array of topics—there's bound to be one that reflects your personal interest or your major. Check out this year's workshop offerings.

Finally, each year's book brings a number of related events to campus—everything from a concert of Vietnamese music to a visit from President Theodore Roosevelt!