Purdue University Northwest / Center for Faculty Excellence / Programs and Services / Book Clubs

Book Clubs

See what the Center for Faculty Excellence is reading during Summer 2025!

REGISTER FOR A BOOK CLUB!

Registration closes Friday, May 9th.

After registration closes, you will receive meeting information (including a Zoom /Teams link, if applicable) in an Outlook calendar invitation, and shortly thereafter, the book will be sent to your home.

Bring Your Own Teaching-Related Book

Book Club Facilitator: Meghan Cook, Asst. Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence

Abstract representation of a shoreline with a beach and waves on the beach. Tree leaves hang over the top corners. "Insert Your Book Title Here" In the top middle.

Looking for time and space to finally read that teaching-related book on your shelf? The CFE’s Bring Your Own Teaching-Related Book Club invites you to explore new ideas and reflect on your practice alongside colleagues in a relaxed, discussion-based setting.

Bring any teaching-related book you’d like to read—your own pick, one from past CFE Book Clubs (see past selections below), or borrow from The Spark Shelf, our curated lending library of teaching and learning resources. You can also participate in The Spark Exchange, a dedicated space for swapping teaching-related books—simply bring a book you’ve finished and trade it for one a colleague has contributed. Both The Spark Shelf and The Spark Exchange are located in Gyte 140 on the Hammond campus.

This is a great opportunity to build connections with fellow educators, gain fresh perspectives on teaching and learning, and reinvigorate your instructional approach—all in a relaxed and supportive environment. Whether you are looking to deepen your understanding of a specific teaching strategy or simply enjoy meaningful conversations about education, we invite you to join us!

Book Club Meeting Dates

Virtual Book Club

  • June 10, 10 to 11:30 a.m., virtual only
  • July 8, 10 to 11:30 a.m., virtual only
  • August 5, 10 to 11:30 a.m., virtual only

Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change

Book Club Facilitator: MITA CHOUDHURY, Professor of English

A Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change book cover. A green ocean with a book floating in the ocean surrounded by dead things and trash. A bird sits atop the floating book with a cityscape in the background.

Book Author: Elizabeth Kolbert

Book Description (Excerpted from Amazon):

Elizabeth Kolbert’s environmental classic Field Notes from a Catastrophe first developed out of a groundbreaking, National Magazine Award-winning three-part series in The New Yorker. She expanded it into a still-concise yet richly researched and damning book about climate change: a primer on the greatest challenge facing the world today.

But in the years since, the story has continued to develop; the situation has become more dire, even as our understanding grows. Now, Kolbert returns to the defining book of her career. She has added a chapter bringing things up-to-date on the existing text, plus three new chapters–on ocean acidification, the tar sands, and a Danish town that’s gone carbon neutral–making it, again, a must-read for our moment.

Book Club Meeting Dates

Hybrid Book Club

  • June 11, 12:30 to 2 p.m., Hammond campus and with Teams available
  • July 9, 12:30 to 2 p.m., Hammond campus and with Teams available
  • August 6, 12:30 to 2 p.m., Hammond campus and with Teams available

Books Read in Previous Book Clubs

Revisit the books that the Center for Faculty Excellence has used in previous book clubs.