Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is globally renowned for its transformative education and research. The University's 10 schools reside on a parklike campus set in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, providing a collaborative culture that empowers leaders of tomorrow. Top-ranked in both academics and financial aid, Vanderbilt offers an immersive residential undergraduate experience, with programs in the liberal arts and sciences, engineering, music, education and human development. The university is also home to nationally and internationally recognized graduate schools of law, education, business, medicine, nursing and divinity, and offers robust graduate-degree programs across a range of disciplines.
Midori Lockett, Chief Community Impact Officer at Vanderbilt University, shared thoughts around the importance of summer reading.
How has reading impacted you?
Profoundly. Reading has opened my world, I have been able to “meet” historical figures and experience places that I have yet to visit except through the stories.
Why is it important for your company to support the local community?
As the second largest private employer in Metro Nashville, Vanderbilt University is committed to the health and vibrancy of the community in which we live, teach, and discover. We are instrumental in educating and training future leaders and visionaries and it is important that these future leaders have an understanding of the world outside their local campus.
What motivates your company to support the Williamson County Library?
One of the most effective means of improving reading achievement levels is providing students with engaging and comprehensive reading materials. Increased time reading can improve reading, writing and spelling ability, cultivate larger vocabularies, and develop understanding of complex grammatical structures. When schools close for the summer, students’ reading opportunities diminish, especially for economically disadvantaged students without access to books. Increasing access to self-selected books for summer reading is important for lowering summer reading setback.
Public library summer reading programs are a successful solution for summer learning loss and summer reading setback. According to research, students who participate in public library summer reading programs score higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year than their peers who did not participate in public library summer reading programming. Students who participate in public library summer reading programs also demonstrate higher reading achievement than students who did not participate.
Thank you, Williamson County Public Library! Vanderbilt University is grateful to you for your dedication to your community and especially to your students in providing an exceptional Summer Reading Program, and we are honored to support you.
What is your favorite book?
This is a hard one to answer since there are so many. I tend to enjoy classic literature ranging from Jane Eyre to Tale of Two Cities but I am also a fan of William Faulkner and Richard Wright.
For more information on Vanderbilt University’s Community Relations department, visit vanderbilt.edu/community-relations.