OER Fellowship Program

Home » Programs » OER Fellowship Program

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Texas OER Fellowship Program aims to support mentor relationships for OER use, creation, and capacity building at institutions and statewide. THECB staff, experts from the Institute of the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), and select instructors offer coaching and facilitation of the program.

Texas OER Fellowship Vision

The future of Texas education is open, and we get there together.

In July 2024, the program welcomed the Founding Fellows cohort. Founding Fellows were selected based on their considerable demonstrated experience and leadership in open education in Texas. The Founding Fellows collaborated to design and evaluate a program curriculum and essential resources to guide the leadership development of future Texas OER Fellows. They received training from invited experts to develop advocacy and mentorship skills.

OER Fellowship Course

This course was developed by the Founding Fellows during the Summer of 2024 to support mentor relationships for OER use, creation, and capacity building at institutions and statewide. The Founding Fellows collaborated on the design and evaluation of the OER Fellowship program course and essential resources to guide leadership development of future Texas OER Fellows.

Texas OER Fellowship Course
  • Victoria Brame, Joint Use Librarian/Associate Professor, Lone Star College-CyFair
  • Dr. Ruth Chisum, Assistant Vice President, Sam Houston State University
  • Dr. Maegan Collins, Department Chair General Education and Developmental Studies, Lamar Institute of Technology
  • Sabrina Davis, Open Educational Resources Librarian, Texas Tech University
  • Gabrielle Hernandez, Open Education Librarian, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
  • John Martin, Director of Scholarly Communications, University of North Texas
  • Jennifer Pate, Director of OpenEd, Texas A&M University
  • Dr. Nathan Smith, Chair Philosophy Department, Houston City College
  • Dr. Elizabeth Rodriguez, Dean of Innovation & Technology, Laredo College
  • Niki Whiteside, Assistant Vice Chancellor – Instructional Innovation & Support, San Jacinto College
  • Prakash Mansinghani, Professor, Laredo College
  • Isabelle Antes, OER Librarian, Texas State University
  • Kate Carter, OER Librarian, University of Houston
  • Heather Medley, Instructional Designer, South Plains College
  • Dr. Philip Mathew, Program Director/Professor, Weatherford College
  • Dr. Tasha Davis, Professor, Austin Community College
  • Dr. Joan Wakasa Murumba, Information Literacy Librarian – Faculty, Texas A&M International University
  • Dr. Kyle Gullings, Associate Professor, The University of Texas Tyler
  • DeeAnn Ivie, OER Coordinator, The University of Texas San Antonio
  • Patrick Osei-Hwere, Instructor, West Texas A&M University

Throughout the academic year, Year I Fellows:

  • Piloted and provided feedback on the Texas OER Fellowship curriculum
  • Built strong relationships between Mentors and Fellows
  • Created mentorship plans for Year 2 Fellows
  • Developed OER Capstone Projects to advance OER statewide
  • Inspired Texas OER leaders through impactful video storytelling
  • Dr. Flavia Belpoliti, Associate Professor and Program Director, East Texas A&M University
  • Elizabeth Chenette, Reserve Services Coordinator, Associate Librarian, Texas A&M University
  • Dr. Thermajean Jones, Assistant Professor, St. Philip’s College 
  • Dr. Jennifer Miller-Ray, Associate Professor, Sul Ross State University 
  • Dr. Rita Mitra, Professor of Practice, The University of Texas at San Antonio 
  • Dr. Remya Mohanraj, Faculty & OER Coordinator, Houston Community College 
  • Dr. Sandra Mohr, Dean of Digital Learning and Instruction, Angelo State University 
  • Dr. Arturo Ozuna, eLearning Instructional Designer, Tarrant County College 
  • Phebe Raglin, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi 
  • Dr. Christian Servin, Professor, El Paso Community College 
  • Megan Zara, OER Librarian, The University of Texas at Arlington 

Apply to be a fellow

The application period for the Year 2 Fellows cohorts closed May 31, 2025. Faculty, librarians, staff, and administrators from Texas public and independent institutions of higher education and system offices are eligible to apply. Fellows must agree to attend a two day in-person workshop in Austin, participate in monthly virtual sessions throughout the academic year, and complete a capstone project.

Please contact Carrie Gits, Assistant Commissioner, at DigitalLearning@highered.texas.gov with questions about the Texas OER Fellowship Program.

Texas OER Fellowship

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Texas OER Fellowship Program supports mentor relationships for OER use, creation, and capacity building at institutions and statewide. THECB staff, experts from the Institute of the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) and select instructors offer coaching and facilitation of the program. Faculty, librarians, staff, and administrators from Texas public and independent institutions of higher education and system offices are invited to participate based on an application review process. OER Fellows attend monthly virtual meetings and an in-person convening in Austin in September.

Learn more about the inspiring work that our fellows are doing across the state of Texas by exploring their collections OER Stories of Impact and Capstone Projects.

Fellowship Vision

The future of Texas education is open, and we get there together.

Founding Fellows

In July 2024, the program welcomed the Founding Fellows cohort. Founding Fellows were selected based on their considerable demonstrated experience and leadership in open education in Texas. The Founding Fellows collaborated to design and evaluate a program curriculum and essential resources to guide the leadership development of future Texas OER Fellows. They received training from invited experts to develop advocacy and mentorship skills.

  • Victoria Brame, Joint Use Librarian/Associate Professor, Lone Star College-CyFair
  • Dr. Ruth Chisum, Assistant Vice President, Sam Houston State University
  • Dr. Maegan Collins, Department Chair General Education and Developmental Studies, Lamar Institute of Technology
  • Sabrina Davis, Open Educational Resources Librarian, Texas Tech University
  • Gabrielle Hernandez, Open Education Librarian, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
  • John Martin, Director of Scholarly Communications, University of North Texas
  • Jennifer Pate, Director of OpenEd, Texas A&M University
  • Dr. Nathan Smith, Chair Philosophy Department, Houston City College
  • Dr. Elizabeth Rodriguez, Dean of Innovation & Technology, Laredo College
  • Niki Whiteside, Assistant Vice Chancellor – Instructional Innovation & Support, San Jacinto College

Year 1 Cohort

  • Prakash Mansinghani, Professor, Laredo College
  • Isabelle Antes, OER Librarian, Texas State University
  • Kate Carter, OER Librarian, University of Houston
  • Heather Medley, Instructional Designer, South Plains College
  • Dr. Philip Mathew, Program Director/Professor, Weatherford College
  • Dr. Tasha Davis, Professor, Austin Community College
  • Dr. Joan Wakasa Murumba, Information Literacy Librarian – Faculty, Texas A&M International University
  • Dr. Kyle Gullings, Associate Professor, The University of Texas at Tyler
  • DeeAnn Ivie, OER Coordinator, The University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Patrick Osei-Hwere, Instructor, West Texas A&M University

Year 2 Cohort

  • Dr. Flavia Belpoliti, Associate Professor and Program Director, East Texas A&M University
  • Elizabeth Chenette, Reserve Services Coordinator, Associate Librarian, Texas A&M University
  • Dr. Thermajean Jones, Assistant Professor, Alamo District-St. Philip’s College 
  • Dr. Jennifer Miller-Ray, Associate Professor, Sul Ross State University 
  • Dr. Rita Mitra, Professor of Practice, The University of Texas at San Antonio 
  • Dr. Remya Mohanraj, Faculty & OER Coordinator, Houston City College 
  • Dr. Sandra Mohr, Dean of Digital Learning and Instruction, Angelo State University 
  • Dr. Arturo Ozuna, eLearning Instructional Designer, Tarrant County College District
  • Phebe Raglin, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi 
  • Dr. Christian Servin, Professor, El Paso Community College District
  • Megan Zara, OER Librarian, The University of Texas at Arlington 

Year 3 Cohort

  • Dr. Lucas Espinoza, Associate Professor, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
  • Dr. Yokabet Gedeon, Professor, Houston City College
  • Dr. Leslie Hall, Associate Professor, Lone Star College
  • Dr. Qingwen Hu, Assistant Professor, The University of Texas Permian Basin
  • Lisa McCormick, Library Director, Schreiner University
  • Luz Miranda, Associate Professor, Coastal Bend College
  • Dr. Sagar Paudel, Dean of STEM, Hill College
  • Dr. Dhanushka Arunasiri Peru Durayalage, Instructional Assistant Professor, University of Houston
  • Weston Rose, Senior Program Manager, The University of Texas System
  • Gabrielle Smith, Associate Professor, Texas Woman’s University
  • Dr. Cynthia Woody, Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Tyler

OER Fellowship Course

This course was developed by the Founding Fellows during the Summer of 2024 to support mentor relationships for OER use, creation, and capacity building at institutions and statewide. The Founding Fellows collaborated on the design and evaluation of the OER Fellowship program course and essential resources to guide leadership development of future Texas OER Fellows.

Texas OER Fellowship Course

Please contact Liz Tolman, Program Director, with questions about the Texas OER Fellowship Program.