The Michelson 20MM Foundation is proud to sponsor the 2023 Open Education Conference and is excited to welcome our 2023 Open Education Conference Scholarship Award recipients! These awardees, representatives of the University of California faculty, librarians, and members of the open education community, will be joining us at the virtual conference November 7th- 9th, during which they will share their unique experiences and take lessons learned back to their campuses. For 16 years, the Open Education Conference has been a nexus for open education advocates and educators to reimagine what an equitable educational experience could look like.
Please join us in celebrating this year’s awardees:
Megan Chung
Commissioner, Academic Affairs Commission, Associated Students, UC Davis
Megan Chung is a fourth year student at the University of California, Davis, studying political science and managerial economics. Her passion for equity and accessibility in education led to her becoming the Academic Affairs Commission Chair for the Associated Students of UC Davis. In this role, she learned about Open Educational Resources during her time advocating for a cost reduction in UC Davis’s textbook program, Equitable Access. Chung continues this commitment in her current position as Academic Affairs Officer for the UC Student Association and as the student representative to the University of California, Office of the President (UCOP) Textbook Affordability Workgroup. She truly believes that the use of Open Education Resources increases the affordability of a college education and continues to advocate for their expansion on college campuses.
Mohamed Hamed
Middle Eastern and Near Eastern Studies Librarian, UC Berkeley
Since 2017, Dr. Mohamed Hamed has served as the Middle Eastern Studies Librarian at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2010 until 2017, he was the Middle East and African Studies Librarian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Hamed holds a PhD in library science from Cairo University, where he specialized in library metrics. He has also been working as an area studies librarian for almost 15 years. According to Dr. Hamed, Area Studies materials and collections are mainly in print and in non-English, meaning they are not easy to obtain nor process normally. As such, it is not easy to use for open educational purposes. For that reason, Dr. Hamed wants to learn more about how area studies collections and open education can work together. He also hopes to share what he learns at the conferences with others, especially the small publishers from the Middle East.
Jianye He
Librarian for Chinese Collections, UC Berkeley
Jianye He has been the librarian for Chinese Collections at UC Berkeley for 18 years. He received her Masters of Arts for Classic Chinese literature and a Master of Library and Information Science (MILS) degree. As a subject librarian, she is responsible for library collection development, instruction and reference services for Chinese Studies. He is very interested in knowing about open education’s resources, current status and future trends.
Jennifer K. Johnson
Writing Professor, UC Santa Barbara
Jennifer K. Johnson (she/her) teaches first-year composition and various upper-division writing courses in the Writing Program at UC Santa Barbara, where she also works with new teachers of writing. Dr. Johnson holds a Ph.D. in Composition and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her work has been published in several edited collections, including Threshold Conscripts: Rhetoric and Composition Teaching Assistantships (2023), The Invisible Professor: A Blueprint for Adjunct Faculty,(2022), Standing at the Threshold: Working Through Liminality in the Composition and Rhetoric TAship (2021), and A Minefield of Dreams: Triumphs and Travails of Independent Writing Programs (2016). Dr. Johnson’s research interests include the relationship between composition and literature, independent writing programs, genre theory, Wikipedia, and writing about writing. She appreciates that open education increases accessibility, particularly for those in marginalized populations. When Dr. Johnson is not teaching or writing, her other interests include traveling, sailing, swimming, and spending time at the beach–preferably with a good book!
Peter Krapp
Professor of Film and Media Studies, University of California (UC) Irvine
Dr. Krapp is a professor of Film and Media Studies at UC Irvine. Course materials have become a matter of equity in higher education as the costs of commercially published textbooks rise and students struggle with college affordability, he shared. As a faculty member concerned about these trends, Dr. Krapp has long been advocating for the increasing awareness and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education, in particular at UC Irvine. Dr. Krapp has presented on this topic systemwide, both to administrative and to senate bodies, to highlight access and affordability. In addition, he has served on two statewide committees devoted to OER.
Paul Rogers
Associate Professor; Director of the Ph.D. Emphasis in Writing Studies, UC Santa Barbara
Dr. Paul Rogers is an Associate Professor and Director of the Ph.D. Emphasis in Writing Studies at UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Rogers brings his expertise in rhetoric, composition, and digital media to the academic realm. His notable publication, Digital Rhetoric in the 21st Century, has been instrumental in reshaping understanding of contemporary writing practices. Dr. Rogers is dedicated to mentoring emerging scholars and fostering a deeper appreciation for the written word in our digital age. He believes open education has been a game changer for education for decades and in many ways represents what the future of education should be.
Iris Ruiz
Assistant Director and Lecturer, UC Merced
Dr. Iris D. Ruiz is a Continuing Lecturer for the UC Merced Merritt Writing Program and a Lecturer with the Sonoma State University Chicano/Latino Studies Program. She teaches first year, second year, and advanced Composition Courses, serving as the Faculty Director of the UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal, and is currently teaching an Introduction to Chicano Studies course for the UC Merced School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Dr. Ruiz believes open access education is important because it embodies the principles of equality, inclusivity, and the democratization of knowledge. It removes financial barriers, fosters inclusivity and cultural exchange, promotes innovation, and empowers individuals to take charge of their own education.
Alfredo Vasquez
Resource Sharing Specialist in the Resource Sharing Division, UC Berkeley
Alfredo Vasquez is a Resource Sharing Specialist in the Resource Sharing Division at the University of California, Berkeley. As a former first-generation BIPOC college student, who experienced first-hand the difficulties of obtaining and connecting to educational resources, Vasquez sees Open Education as a crucial framework for ensuring equitable access to those resources. As a current-day library employee, Vasquez is particularly interested in exploring ways of opening up and creating pathways to more inclusive workplace culture.
Alison Williams
Lecturer for the Writing Program, UC Santa Barbara
Alison Williams is a Lecturer in the Writing Program at UC Santa Barbara. She teaches upper-division courses in media writing and composition, bringing her background in strategic communication in the creative industries together with her research interests to develop socially critical and student-centered curriculum and pedagogy. A long-time advocate for open education and resources, Williams has worked and studied with the Global Society of Online Literacy, Center for Art Design + Social Research, and the Operating System & Liminal Lab, amongst others. Williams holds an MFA Creative Writing and MA English from Chapman University, and is currently pursuing a low-residency research-based PhD in Creative Practice with the Transart Institute at the John Lennon Center for Art & Design at Liverpool John Moores University (UK).
Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation working toward equity for underserved and historically underrepresented communities by expanding access to educational and employment opportunities, increasing affordability of educational programs, and ensuring the necessary supports are in place for individuals to thrive. To do so, we work in the following verticals: Digital Equity, Intellectual Property, Smart Justice, Student Basic Needs, and Open Educational Resources (OER). Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.
To sign up for our newsletter, click here.