{"id":2783,"date":"2025-05-21T10:11:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T17:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=2783"},"modified":"2025-06-25T08:19:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T15:19:46","slug":"oer-champion-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-champion-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Free, open textbooks lead to 5 Oregon State faculty members winning OER Champion Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

OSU professors honored for their work in reducing student costs and expanding access to learning<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Five Oregon State University faculty members were honored earlier this month for their \u201coutstanding\u201d efforts to make higher education more affordable for students.<\/p>\n

Open Oregon Educational Resources<\/a>, a statewide organization that promotes textbook affordability and the adoption of low-cost learning materials, recognized the five OSU faculty members with its OER Champion Award<\/a>. The award is given annually to educators who demonstrate outstanding commitment to open educational practices and equitable learning access.<\/p>\n

Open educational resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that are freely available to students, teachers, researchers and the general public. Examples of OER include textbooks, course modules, lectures, digital learning objects, classroom activities and quizzes.<\/p>\n

Meet Oregon State\u2019s 2025 OER Champions<\/h2>\n

Andreas Schmittner and Lauren Dalton<\/h3>\n

OER Champion Award category:<\/strong> Outstanding Publications<\/p>\n

Andreas Schmittner<\/strong>, a professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, is a long-standing advocate for affordable course materials. His textbook, “Introduction to Climate Science<\/a>,” is Oregon State\u2019s most widely adopted openly licensed text, with 29 reported adoptions in the U.S. and internationally.<\/p>\n

Schmittner\u2019s commitment to climate education and accessibility is evident. He has worked directly with visually impaired students to improve usability and is currently preparing an updated edition to meet evolving educational needs.<\/p>\n

Lauren Dalton<\/strong>, a senior instructor I in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in OSU’s College of Science, co-authored “Fundamentals of Cell Biology<\/a>,” along with Robin Young at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. The textbook is currently being used at 16 U.S. institutions. The text features custom illustrations and embedded animations that help students visualize complex biological concepts.<\/p>\n

At Oregon State alone, the book has saved students an estimated $50,000 annually.<\/p>\n

Kate Lajtha<\/h3>\n

OER Champion Award category: <\/strong>Leadership for Equity<\/p>\n

Kate Lajtha<\/strong>, a professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Science in the College of Agricultural Sciences, received recognition for her equity-driven approach to course design.<\/p>\n

After observing that many students in her high-enrollment Sustainability 102 course could not afford the required commercial textbook, Lajtha sought OER alternatives. She adopted open textbooks and redesigned her Canvas course with new quiz and discussion content.<\/p>\n

The language in the OER texts also proved more accessible to her non-native English-speaking students. Her shift to open materials has saved Oregon State students more than $13,000 annually while removing financial and linguistic barriers to learning.<\/p>\n

Rorie Solberg<\/h3>\n

OER Champion Award category: <\/strong>Open Pedagogy Innovator<\/p>\n

Rorie Solberg, a professor in the School of Public Policy in the College of Liberal Arts, is among Oregon State\u2019s most prolific open textbook authors. Her books “Civil Rights and Liberties<\/a>” and “Government Powers and Limitations<\/a>” were developed in collaboration with students, replacing costly legal texts with free, openly licensed resources. These two books alone were accessed more than 20,000 times last year and are now used by institutions throughout the U.S. and beyond.<\/p>\n

Solberg also serves as co-editor and contributor to “Open Judicial Politics<\/a>,” a two-volume series now in its third edition. Written by a diverse group of scholars, this series replaces commercial textbooks that can cost up to $150 each and introduces students to hands-on research in political science.<\/p>\n

Dan Faltesek<\/h3>\n

OER Champion Award category:<\/strong> Institutional Advocacy and Leadership<\/p>\n

Dan Faltesek, an associate professor of new media communications in the College of Liberal Arts, was recognized both for his authorship and for his leadership in advancing OER adoption at the institutional level.<\/p>\n

Faltesek authored “New Media Futures,<\/a>” a widely used OER text, and is currently working on a second edition. In addition to his publications, Faltesek co-chaired the Oregon State committee tasked with revising the Baccalaureate Core Curriculum. Under his leadership, the committee introduced a requirement for course proposals to indicate whether OER materials were considered \u2014 a move that has significantly increased faculty awareness of affordable alternatives.<\/p>\n

While Oregon State faculty retain autonomy in selecting course materials, this simple proposal prompt has encouraged more instructors to explore cost-saving options.<\/p>\n

Oregon State\u2019s commitment to affordable learning<\/h2>\n

Oregon State University is a national leader in the open educational resources movement. Since 2019, Oregon State students have saved more than $20 million<\/a> through faculty adoption of free or low-cost learning materials. These efforts increase access to course content, improve academic outcomes, and help students graduate on time with less debt.<\/p>\n

Oregon State faculty members \u2014\u00a0Schmittner, Dalton, Lajtha, Solberg and Faltesek and many others \u2014 work with OSU\u2019s Open Educational Resources Unit<\/a> to adopt, adapt or author OER for courses delivered in person and online.<\/p>\n

Interested in adopting OER?<\/h2>\n

The OER initiatives of this year\u2019s OER Champions were funded through Oregon State University\u2019s Affordable Learning Grant program<\/a>. In addition to funding, the OER Unit provides technical support to help faculty develop and implement high-quality, accessible course materials.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an Oregon State faculty member interested in adopting, adapting or authoring an open textbook or other learning resource, visit the Oregon State OER Unit\u2019s website<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Five Oregon State University faculty members were honored earlier this month for their \u201coutstanding\u201d efforts to make higher education more affordable for students. Open Oregon Educational Resources, a statewide organization that promotes textbook affordability and the adoption of low-cost learning materials, recognized the five OSU faculty members with its OER Champion Award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10,678,679,675],"tags":[374,205,75,159,659,602,658],"class_list":["post-2783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-awards","category-faculty-and-programs","category-leadership-and-innovation","category-accessing-college","tag-college-of-agricultural-sciences","tag-college-of-earth-ocean-and-atmospheric-sciences","tag-college-of-liberal-arts","tag-college-of-science","tag-oer","tag-oer-at-work","tag-open-educational-resources"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/oer-textbooks.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-IT","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1867,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-commons-open-access\/","url_meta":{"origin":2783,"position":0},"title":"Finding a new, prominent home for Oregon State\u2019s OER","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"September 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State University\u2019s expanding collection of open educational resources is now available in one of the world\u2019s largest OER repositories, giving users greater access to the university\u2019s no-cost course materials in a single location. OER Commons\u00a0is a freely accessible, online library that invites educators and students at Oregon State and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A person working on a laptop with a geographic map on the screen, alongside an open textbook titled \"Getting Organized.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2730,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/open-education-week-oer\/","url_meta":{"origin":2783,"position":1},"title":"Oregon State faculty\u2019s use of free textbooks generates millions in student savings","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"March 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Editor's note: This story was originally published on the Oregon State University Division of Educational Ventures news site. Tuition costs are beyond the control of Oregon State University faculty members, but there is a proven way they can make student learning more affordable: by replacing expensive textbooks with free and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A person working on a laptop with a geographic map on the screen, alongside an open textbook titled \"Getting Organized.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1727,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-biological-environmental-engineering\/","url_meta":{"origin":2783,"position":2},"title":"OER at Work: Open textbook is ‘a much more interactive resource’","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"April 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"John Selker is a distinguished professor in Oregon State\u2019s Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering. He and an international colleague are tapping into the wealth of open educational resources through OSU Libraries. Learn about the process, benefits and challenges of implementing OER in his course.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1687,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-at-work-marine-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":2783,"position":3},"title":"OER at Work: Authoring a marine law open textbook was ‘straightforward and seamless’","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"February 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State researcher and instructor Holly Campbell says the process of authoring an open textbook on marine law \"was very straightforward and seamless,\" and she advises her faculty colleagues to not hesitate in implementing open educational resources in their classes.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A humpback whale breaches and soars in the air above the ocean. Holly Campbell teaches an ocean law course for Oregon State and uses an open textbook.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/marine-law-open-textbook.jpg?fit=744%2C455&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/marine-law-open-textbook.jpg?fit=744%2C455&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/marine-law-open-textbook.jpg?fit=744%2C455&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/marine-law-open-textbook.jpg?fit=744%2C455&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1783,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-epidemiology\/","url_meta":{"origin":2783,"position":4},"title":"OER at Work: Expanding access to learning on all fronts","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"June 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"For a number of years, Oregon State assistant professor Marit Bovbjerg grew increasingly frustrated with the traditional textbook options for her introductory epidemiology courses. 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Now she's an OER Champion in the state of Oregon for her impressive efforts.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/P03002-OER-at-Work-800x450-210611-v1.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/P03002-OER-at-Work-800x450-210611-v1.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/P03002-OER-at-Work-800x450-210611-v1.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/P03002-OER-at-Work-800x450-210611-v1.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1977,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/textbooks-expensive-affordable-learning\/","url_meta":{"origin":2783,"position":5},"title":"Textbooks are way too expensive. Oregon State is saving students millions.","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"March 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"College textbooks are way too expensive, and Oregon State \u2014 with its faculty leading the way \u2014\u00a0is on a mission to make college more affordable and accessible for students. With the support of the OSU\u00a0Open Educational Resources Unit, an increasing number of OSU instructors are adopting, adapting and authoring no-cost\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ecampus student Karen Baek sits at a laptop in an OSU building. 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