Woodring's Molly Ware named new director of Western Reads

​WWU Associate Professor of Secondary Education Molly Ware has been appointed faculty director of Western Reads, a campus-wide program that serves the university's first year mission by promoting intellectual engagement, community and conversation with new students through experiences related to selected texts. 
 
Ware replaces Associate Professor of English Dawn Dietrich, who led the program for six years. 
 
"I'm very much looking forward to serving our campus as Western Reads director," said Ware. "I am especially excited to bring together faculty, students, staff, and administration around experiences that support first year students in exploring contexts and conversations that animate their work at Western and engage our campus and community in working across boundaries to address timely questions and complex challenges."

"Texts can be powerful mechanisms for creating space for these conversations to come to life. And I hope to draw on Western's longstanding commitment to encouraging student exploration, faculty-student-staff collaboration, and active minds changing lives through my work as Western Reads director," she said.

Ware currently teaches courses such as Philosophy of Education, Adolescent Development, Making Change Happen, & Systems Thinking for Leaders, and works with freshmen in the FIG program. Her research focuses on transformative learning, large scale systems change, and organizational innovation. She holds a doctorate in Science Education from the University of Georgia along with certificates in Social Impact Strategy & Community Economic Development from the University of Pennsylvania and Simon Fraser University. Ware also served as Faculty Senate president for the 2015-16 academic year. 
 
“I’m excited about all that Professor Ware will bring to Western Reads,” said WWU Provost Brent Carbajal.  “Her leadership acumen and commitment to inclusive engagement will help us build on the very strong program that Professor Dietrich fostered and furthered.”  
 
This year’s Western Reads Text is “Tulalip, From My Heart: An Autobiographical Account of a Reservation Community.” Numerous campus community events have been held in relation to the book, including presentations by indigenous studies scholars, as well as faculty, staff and student field trips to the Tulalip Tribe’s Hibulb Cultural Center.
 
By engaging students academically and socially in varied academic communities and conversations across campus, Western Reads programming brings together faculty, administrators, staff, and students in ways that support first year students in connecting to the larger campus community, successfully negotiating their first year, and understanding the purposes of a liberal arts education.
 
Last Year’s Western Reads selection was Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me.” More information on Western Reads can be found at https://wp.wwu.edu/westernreads.