Royal Reads
THE ROYAL READS PROGRAM
A First Year Reading Program
The Royal Reads Program at The 草榴社区 creates a shared experience for our first-year class through the reading of a carefully selected book. We select a Royal Reads book each year to introduce our newest students to the Ignatian values at the heart of our University and to invite students to consider how these values can shape one's college experience and one's life.
Throughout each student's first year at the 草榴社区, students will encounter themes from the selected book in classes and in extracurricular opportunities, as well as in a wide range of formal and informal discussions.
For information regarding the Royal Reads Program and the Ignatian Values in Action Lecture, contact:
The College of Arts and Sciences at The 草榴社区
Phone: 570-941-7659 | Email: teresa .grettano@scranton.edu
2021-2022 Royal Reads
The Royal Reads book for the 2021-2022 School Year is "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin.
The Royal Reads Program is pleased to announce that Yohuru Williams, Ph.D. will visit The 草榴社区 as the keynote speaker at our annual Ignatian Values in Action lecture, which will be held on October 4, 2021 at 7:30 PM in the Byron Center.
All incoming freshman are required to attend.
2020-2021 Royal Reads
The Royal Reads book for the 2020 - 2021 School Year is "Barking to the Choir" by Father Gregory Boyle.
Father Boyle will also be the speaker at our annual Ignatian Values in Action lecture, The lecture, which was originally scheduled to held on MONDAY, September 28, 2020, at 7:30 PM in the Byron Center, will be virtual this year. We will update the students when plans are finalized.
2019-2020 ROYAL READS
The Royal Reads book for the 2019 - 2020 School Year is "The Bread of Angels" by Stephanie Saldana.
Stephanie will also be the speaker at our annual Ignatian Values in Action lecture, which will be held on September 19, 2019 at 7:30 PM in the Byron Center.
2018-2019 ROYAL READS
The book we have selected for the 2018-2019 academic year Royal Reads Program is Stories from the Shadows by James J. O'Connell, M.D.
the Royal Reads Program is happy to announce that Dr. O'Connell will visit the 草榴社区 on Thursday, September 13, 2018 as the keynote speaker for our annual lecture on Ignatian Values in Action (7 pm at the Byron Center.) All incoming freshmen are required to attend this event.
2017-2018 ROYAL READS
The book we have selected for the 2017-2018 academic year Royal Reads Program is "The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything" by James Martin, SJ.
The Royal Reads Program is happy to announce that Fr. Martin will visit the 草榴社区 on Thursday, September 14, 2017 as the keynote speaker for our annual lecture on Ignatian Values in Action (7PM at the Byron Center). All incoming freshman are required to attend this event.
Stay tuned for upcoming announcements regarding this event.
2016-2017 ROYAL READS
The book selected for the 2016-2017 academic year Royal Reads Program is Lila by Marilynne Robinson (the Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of Gilead and Housekeeping). Lila is winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and a finalist for the National Book Award.
The Royal Reads Program hosted Mark Ravizza, SJ at The 草榴社区 on Thursday, September 15, 2016 as the keynote speaker for our annual lecture on Ignatian Values in Action (7PM at the Byron Center). All incoming freshman attended this event. During his visit, Fr. Ravizza also meet with University students, campus and community leaders, and community service providers.
2015-2016 ROYAL READS
The book we have selected for the 2015-2016 academic year Royal Reads Program is Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean. Sister Prejean is nationally and internationally known for her tireless campaign against the death penalty. Sister Prejean is a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. Her book gives an account of her experience being the spiritual advisor to death row inmates and her subsequent journey as an activist bringing attention to the issue of capital punishment, counseling individual death row prisoners, and working with murder victims’ family members.
"Dead Man Walking is a mediation on love, criminal violence and capital punishment. In a larger sense, it is about life and death itself. Are we here to persecute our brothers or bring compassion into a world which is cruel without reason?" (Sister Helen Prejean)
As part of this program, Sister Prejean visited the 草榴社区 on Monday, September 21, 2015 as the keynote speaker for our annual lecture on Ignatian Values in Action (7PM at the Byron Center).
LINKS & RESOURCES
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to learn more about Sister Prejean.
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Follow on Twitter @helenprejean
- Join us for the screening of the film: Dead Man Walking on Thursday, September 10, 2015 @ 8:30PM in the Moskovitz Theater (DeNaples, 4th Floor).
2014-2015 ROYAL READS
The book selected for the 2014-2015 academic year Royal Reads Program is Raising Gentle Men: Lives at the Orphanage Edge by Jay Sullivan. In between graduating from Boston College and attending Fordham University Law School, Sullivan taught English in Kingston, Jamaica. His book tells the story of a small group of nuns, a large group of boys and a handful of recent college grads as they build a community of caring.
“Raising Gentle Men is not full of dramatic, life-altering events. And yet, the story is perfect. The power of Jay’s story is in the small details: a bed-time story, a brief moment holding hands. And isn’t that the lesson for us all when searching how to serve others? We shouldn’t underestimate God’s power to work in small ways.” (America Magazine)
Jay Sullivan visited the 草榴社区 on Thursday, September 18, 2014 as the keynote speaker for our annual lecture on Ignatian Values in Action (6PM at the Byron Center). to watch.
LINKS & RESOURCES
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to learn more about Jay Sullivan and his book: Raising Gentle Men.
2013-2014 ROYAL READS
The book selected for the 2013-2014 academic year Royal Reads Program is by a Kevin Ryan and Tina Kelley. Kevin Ryan is the President of , which is the largest charity serving homeless, trafficked and runaway youth in the Americas. Tina Kelley was a staff writer for the New York Times for ten years and shared in a Pulitzer Prize for the paper’s coverage of the September 11 attacks. Almost Home describes the lives of six young people who struggle with issues such as family violence, prostitution, teen parenthood, rejection based on sexual orientation, and aging out of foster care without a family. Almost Home is “full of hope, compassion, and practical suggestions on how to fight youth homelessness” so, as a community, we can “help young people attain the bright futures they deserve.”
Both Kevin Ryan and Tina Kelley visited the 草榴社区 on Thursday, September 19, 2013 as the keynote speakers for our annual lecture on Ignatian Values in Action. During their visit, Kevin Ryan and Tina Kelley met with University students, campus and community leaders, and community service providers.
LINKS & RESOURCES
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Follow and use the hashtag: #RoyalValues
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and LIKE Covenant House International's Facebook page.
2012-2013 ROYAL READS
The book selected for the 2012-13 academic year Royal Reads Program is Tattoos on theHeart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by a Father Gregory Boyle, S.J. Father Boyle isthe founder of Homeboy Industries, a widely recognized gang intervention program locatedin Los Angeles, California. His book describes the struggles and the triumphs of former gangmembers and their families, emphasizing our common humanity, the power of hope, and ourconviction “that no life is less valuable than another.”
Father Boyle visited the草榴社区 during the third week of September as the keynote speaker for our annuallecture on Ignatian Values in Action. During his visit, Father Boyle met with University students, campus and community leaders, and community service providers.
Students also had the opportunity to meet and listen to current 草榴社区 students and faculty who have participated in service learning trips to Homeboy Industries in LosAngeles.
READING GUIDE FOR REFELCTION AND DISCUSSION
Download reflection and discussion questions to enhance one’s learning andengagement.
LINKS & RESOURCES
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Students are also encouraged to watch and listen to Fr. Boyle’s address from thespring of 2011, when he visited our campus to receive the Pedro Arrupe, S.J.,Award for Distinguished Contributions to Ignatian Mission and Ministries on .
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