Faculty Advisor:  Marcy Zipke, Ph. D.

Alpha Upsilon Alpha is the honor society of the International Reading Association. Its purpose is to provide its members with opportunities to engage in service, leadership, and professional growth in the field of literacy. To that end, the Providence College chapter has engaged student members in a variety of literacy related experiences. 

Our annual Literacy Walk has raised money for books for local schools and for Reach Out and Read Rhode Island. Students have been trained to serve as volunteer readers in clinics for Reach Out and Read, and we have collected and distributed hundreds of gently used books for this organization. We have held Read-a-thons in public schools and have sponsored professional development sessions on campus, inviting both teachers and authors onto campus to increase our knowledge base of best practices. We have recently begun a Teachers as Readers group, and have enjoyed getting together to discuss children's literature and how we might utilize it in classrooms.