Chancellor Leads Group Bringing Books to Marvell

Chancellor Gearhart and Provost Gaber shelve books

Filling the shelves at Marvell Elementary library

Mrs. Ruth Denson, Assistant Superintendent of Marvell School District and Chancellor Gearhart

Emily Evans, ASG vice president, reads to students

Billy Fleming, ASG president, reads to students

LaShunta Williams, university student reads to students

Marvell students check out Razorbug

Provost Gaber reads

Chancellor Gearhart reads

Photo Submitted

Chancellor Gearhart and Provost Gaber shelve books

The library at Marvell Elementary School in Phillips County has more than 800 new books on its shelves, thanks to a new program called Arkansas Reads, a joint effort by the University of Arkansas and Fayetteville High School. Chancellor G. David Gearhart and Provost Sharon Gaber, along with administrators, teachers and students, delivered the books personally on May 12, and even helped put them on the library shelves.

They also brought another 200 books for the Marvell High School.

The university group was welcomed by Marvell School District officials and Marvell Mayor W.P. Foster during an assembly in the school cafetorium. The chancellor and provost both took the stage to tell the students about their opportunities for a college education.

Gearhart asked the students how many planned to go to college.

Every child raised a hand.

"Chancellor Gearhart's dialogue with the students really engaged them," said Ulicious Reed, superintendent of the Marvell School District. "He and Provost Gaber also read stories, allowing students to give feedback. It was inspiring, motivating and meaningful. This dialogue provided an experience that made Marvell Elementary School's students unique. Not many elementary children have a chancellor and provost from a major university like Arkansas share short stories with them.

Gaber read to the students from Bill Cosby's Friends of a Feather; Gearhart chose a Dr. Seuss classic, Oh, the Places You'll Go! David Jolliffe, who holds the Brown Chair in English Literacy and is professor of English, also spoke, encouraging the children to remember that books are windows to the world.

After the assembly the group moved on to the library, some to help with the shelving while others read and talked with the students.

As an added treat during the visit, each classroom at Marvell Elementary got a chance to have its picture taken with the university's Razorbug.

"It was a privilege to be part of this effort," said Gearhart. "Mr. Reed, Mayor Foster and the many teachers and administrators we met were so welcoming and so appreciative that we were really overwhelmed. The students from Marvell were a delight. They were wonderfully engaged during story time and were clearly eager to dive in and check out the books. We see this as an important effort, not just to take books to a deserving school, but also to encourage learning early and to help young students in Marvell and across the state to see themselves as preparing for college.

The university's office of admissions created the Arkansas Reads program last fall, but the program quickly grew to include the chancellor's office, Associated Student Government, Mullins Library, the Brown Chair in English Literacy, the office of nationally competitive awards and Fayetteville High School. The Fayetteville Dawg Crew, a student service and recognition group, under the supervision of English teacher Michelle Fyfe, joined the effort and the program was soon informally known as the Hawgs and Dawgs book drive. The Fayetteville students began collecting books in January, and the university book drive, coordinated by Kelly Westeen in enrollment services, started in March. Together the two groups collected more than a 1,000 books in all.

"The program this year was such a success, partly thanks to the generous gifts from the chancellor's office and an anonymous donor, but largely through the efforts of our students," said Suzanne McCray, dean of admissions. "We plan to do even more next year. We're looking for more high schools across the state to partner with us to collect books, and more school districts that would like to receive them."