While a graduate student in American Studies at the U, Cox was hired to direct a community reading program through an NEH grant to the American Library Association. Having our own program, instead of simply presenting materials chosen by the national office of the American Library Association, allowed us to examine themes more relevant to our locale. Now in six western states, the organization has received seven NEH grants in the course of its 11-year history. The program brings together scholars, schools, and community members with facilitated discussion topics in an effort to bridge the gap between academics and society. More than 400 book groups have used Human Pursuits resources to make their neighborhood book groups more appealing and less expensive to participants.
Cox recruits members of the local academic community to help develop and facilitate the gatherings.
To a person, these scholars relish the opportunity both to share their knowledge and to learn from the people they meet. Hearing the perspectives of different peoples and communities enriches everyone involved. Both are enlivened and made more vital because of her unique ability to express the most complex of ideas in an informed but accessible manner. The border town has been ravaged by El Nino-caused floods that destroyed most of its buildings, and Cox expected the Del Rio library to cancel its upcoming sessions. Instead, the librarian organizing the local event used the meeting as a means to rally the community.