Concordia University Chicago - Center for Literacy Community Night & Ribbon Cutting

Concordia University Chicago’s new Center for Literacy will host a community night and ribbon cutting on Friday, January 17, at 6 p.m. The free event will begin in the West Annex, Room WA 123 and then move to the Christopher Center, Room CC200 on the University’s River Forest campus.

The event is designed to celebrate the accomplishments of the first group of children to take part in the Center’s Jumping into Multiliteracies (JiM) program, partially funded by Youth Services of the Oak Park and River Forest Townships. Current students of the program will present what they have learned in person and via student-produced video segments. University faculty and administrators will be on hand to provide an overview of the Center’s resources and answer questions from community members. 

In describing the Center’s goals, Dr. Dara Soljaga, Center Director and Associate Professor of Curriculum, Language and Literacy, explained, “The Center is positioning itself as a regional hub for the research and practice of literacy. The University is proud to offer these opportunities as a focal point of its growing community outreach programs.”

Thanks to generous donations, the Center will serve the community by providing innovative and meaningful teaching and learning methods focused on critical reading, writing, speaking, presenting, and thinking processes. The Center for Literacy also enables CUC faculty and students to reach out to schools, districts and teachers with language and literacy support frameworks. The youth portion of the facility provides rich, authentic literary experiences for students in grades PK-12.

Currently, the University is seeking area schools to participate in the Center for Literacy’s programs and to collaborate in new programs. 

For more information on this event or the Center for Literacy visit gradschool/CUChicago.edu or contact Dara Soljaga, Ph.D., at dara.soljaga@CUChicago.edu or 708-209-3508.