USU Invites Students, Faculty, Staff to Participate in Statewide Read-a-Thon on Oct. 2

Utah State University President Brad Mortensen is supporting the Governor and First Lady’s Read-a-Thon on Oct. 2 anytime between 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate in the event at each of the Statewide Campuses and Extension locations.

“There’s something special about reading a book with a child. It sparks their imagination and reminds us as adults what it feels like to believe anything is possible,” Mortensen said. “I invite everyone across Utah to join us on Oct. 2 to enjoy a good book, whether on your own or with a child in your life.”

There will be designated reading areas across the Logan Campus to promote reading and the joy of finding a great book. In the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, the School for Teacher Education and Leadership will celebrate reading in the Education Building at the Young Educational Learning Center (YETC) with events from 9-11 a.m. including the Educators Rising Student Club and The Literacy Clinic. The Merrill-Cazier Library will also host specific areas for reading.

Gov. Spencer Cox is encouraging all Utahns to set aside an hour to read: “On Oct. 2, mark your calendars — we are having a statewide Read-a-Thon,” Cox said. “We want businesspeople in their pajamas and bringing their pillows and their books to work. Let’s get reading again.”

Elementary students at Edith Bowen Laboratory School, a K-6 charter school located on the Logan Campus, are excited to lead the effort to get everyone involved in the statewide event. EBLS students will be reading with groups across campus, including the Sound Beginnings kindergarten class, ASSERT Autism preschool, Natural Resources library, Heravi Peace Institute, the English department, ASPIRE, College of Veterinary Medicine and student athletes from USU Athletics programs.

“At USU, we are bringing our faculty and students together with our young readers here on campus to share this reading experience together,” said Shannon Rhodes, first-grade teacher at Edith Bowen Laboratory School. “Edith Bowen teachers and students have requested guests on campus to join them at this read-a-thon or where they want their students to go and read — we have paired student-athletes with some classes, and some sixth-grade students are reading with our young friends who cannot read themselves.”