DANBURY, CONN. — The published work of three of Western Connecticut State University’s faculty members will be featured in an author reading on campus on Thursday, Oct. 1. The Faculty Author Reading is one of several events the university will host as part of the annual Banned Books Week, which raises awareness of issues such as First Amendment rights, censorship and the freedom to express ideas that are considered controversial. Banned Books Week is from Monday, Sept. 28, through Friday, Oct. 2.

The Faculty Author Reading will be held at 3 p.m. in Warner Hall on the WestConn Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury, and will feature Associate Professor of History Dr. Marcy May, Associate Professor of Nursing Dr. Karen Daley and Adjunct Instructor of Psychology Dr. Lisa Rene Reynolds. The event is free and open to the public. Featured books will be available at the event for purchase and signing.

May will read from her book “Women’s Roles in Twentieth Century America,” an overview of the development of American women in such areas as education, the home, law, politics, religion, work and the arts. The book addresses the time frame from the Progressive Era to the modern day.

Daley, who was editor of “Simulation Scenarios for Nurse Educators: Making it Real,” will read part of the step-by-step guide to developing, incorporating and integrating simulated scenarios into nursing curricula. The book also discusses shaping and recreating new content for specific needs.

Reynolds will read “Still a Family: A Guide to Good Parenting through Divorce,” which shares her insights about common mistakes divorcing parents make, age-specific issues to anticipate in children, and overall, how to sensibly and comfortingly guide children through this difficult time.

Paul Steinmetz, WestConn’s director of University Relations, coordinated the reading.

“The event demonstrates the excellence of the faculty here at WestConn, and the books demonstrate the highest level of research, teaching and writing,” he said.

Several other events are planned for Banned Books Week on campus.

• A Banned Books Readathon will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and Wednesday, Sept. 30, outside of the Student Center (or in the lobby of Warner Hall in case of rain) on the Midtown campus.

• The department of history and non-Western cultures will host “Rebellious Readers: How Medieval Princesses and Peasants Subverted Authority with Books” from 4 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30, in the lobby of Warner Hall on the Midtown campus.

• “Controversial Characters from Banned Children’s Literature Come to Life” will be at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, in the North Ballroom of the Westside Campus Center on the university’s Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury.

• A poetry slam at an open mic Coffeehouse will be from 8 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, at Alumni Hall on the Midtown campus.

• The last Banned Books Week event, hosted by the Roger Sherman Debate Society, will feature a debate on the topic “Are Sexual Relationships between Adults and Minors Ever Acceptable: Interpreting Nabokov’s ‘Lolita.’” The debate will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, in the lobby of Warner Hall on the Midtown campus.

For more information, call the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.