Annual ZTC/OER Faculty Award
The ZTC/OER Faculty Award was established in 2022 with the support of the President's Office and the MJC Foundation to honor the work of an exceptional faculty member, part time or full time, who has gone above and beyond in support of the Institutional efforts around Zero Textbook Cost and the use of Open Education Resources. The recipient will receive $1000, which can be used to support an educational initiative of their choosing at MJC.
2024
Dr. Tara Bunag is a Chemistry Professor and has been a strong supporter of ZTC and OER at the college for the past 4 years. She has not only adopted and created OER to change all her courses to ZTC but has also helped advance this teaching philosophy in her department, which has resulted in the AS in Chemistry becoming fully ZTC as of Fall 2024. In addition, Tara serves in the ZTC/OER Committee and has led several workshops including OER for Antiracism. More recently, she led an Open Pedagogy Community of Practice. She is also known as the LibreText Queen at MJC! Tara's work with OER goes beyond Chemistry as she is also an Instructional Designer by training and has created several other ZTC courses at other institutions where she has worked. MJC is truly blessed to have Tara!
2023
Dr. Jessica Brennan is a Child Development Professor and has been one of the strongest supporters of ZTC and OER at the college for the past 3 years. She not only adopted OER to change all her courses to be ZTC but also helped advanced this teaching philosophy in her department. Additionally, she mentored some part-time colleagues, distributed information, and led the way for one of the first ZTC degrees on campus. Jessica has also attended OER trainings, conferences, and most recently joined a community of practice for OER and antiracism work on campus. Because of her dedication and effort, we will soon learn if Jessica's funding proposal will be granted, which will translate into five new ZTC degrees and certificates in Child Development.
2022
The 2022 ZTC/OER Faculty Award goes to Professor Rob Stevenson. This faculty member has converted many of his courses to ZTC and has greatly contributed to the creation of at least four ZTC degrees including A.A. in Art, Photography, Art History, and Studio Arts. In addition, he was instrumental in the development of the first Zero Textbook Cost Institutional Plan and has supported these efforts both directly through the Academic Senate, and behind the scenes by mentoring faculty involved with ZTC efforts on campus.