One of the defining features of "Common Read" programs such as Text-in-Community (TIC) is their alignment with the goals, values, and mission of their college or university. North Carolina A&T's TIC program was established in 2003-2004 as Goal One of the University's Future's Vision. Future's Five Goals envisioned the creation of a "learner-centered community that develops and preserves intellectual capital through interdisciplinary learning, discovery, engagement and operational excellence." Through programming that crosses disciplinary boundaries, TIC's activities would "develop community conversations" among students, faculty, and staff around the themes that emerged from each year's selected text. W.E.B. DuBois' The Souls of Black Folk was chosen as the first text because it was believed that its thought-provoking themes would generate conversation and debate about the "progress of African Americans, the obstacles to that progress, and the opportunities for future progress" one-hundred years after the book's original publication.
The Text-in-Community program is sponsored by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Division of Student Affairs.