Guilford Technical Community College Selects “Hidden Figures” for Annual All-College Read

Author Margot Shetterly will visit GTCC on September 28th (photo by Aran Shetterly)

JAMESTOWN, N.C. — Guilford Technical Community College’s faculty has selected “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race” for its annual All-College Read. The New York Times best-seller will influence a number of academic and student activities, including a visit by its author, Margot Lee Shetterly, on Sept. 28 at noon.

“GTCC’s All-College Read is an annual tradition and serves to strengthen students’ awareness of their education beyond the classroom,” said Amanda Fields, GTCC English Department Chair. “This year’s selection of ‘Hidden Figures’ also aligns with the Greensboro Public Library’s One City, One Book program, which we have proudly supported since 2002.”

The Greensboro Public Library’s One City, One Book program encourages the entire community to read the same book.

In addition to “Hidden Figures” being required reading for all GTCC English 111 classes, the novel’s themes will influence other educational and student life activities. There will be a number of events throughout the 2017-2018 academic year to promote discussion of the book’s themes as part of the All-College Read series.

Books for the annual All-College Read are selected for readability, engagement with thematic content and accessibility to an author visit. These criteria guide the selection of a college-wide text.

Event Info

Author Visit: Margot Lee Shetterly

What:  Meet Margot Lee Shetterly, author of the New York Times best seller “Hidden Figures.” She is also founder of The Human Computer Project, an endeavor to recover the names and accomplishments of all the women who worked as computers, mathematicians, scientists and engineers at the NACA and NASA from the 1930s through the 1980s.

Shetterly grew up in Hampton Virginia where she knew many of the women in “Hidden Figures.” She is an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow and the recipient of a Virginia Foundation of the Humanities grant for her research into the history of women in computing.

The author visit is sponsored by: the Greensboro Public Library, the Greensboro Public Library Foundation, Friends of the Greensboro Public Library and GTCC. This event is free and open to the public.

When:  Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 at noon

Where:  Joseph S. Koury Auditorium, GTCC Jamestown Campus 601 E. Main St., Jamestown, N.C.

Guilford Technical Community College is the fourth largest of 58 institutions in the North Carolina Community College System. GTCC serves more than 35,000 students annually from five campuses and a Small Business Center. Learn more at www.gtcc.edu.