As Sherry Tinerella prepares to retire and conclude her 17-year tenure as a member of the Arkansas Tech University library staff, she can do so with the knowledge that she made an authentic and sustainable difference in student access.
Tinerella was a driving force in the introduction and implementation of open education resources at Arkansas Tech. The initiative has led 43 ATU faculty members to implement no-cost textbooks and related materials in 67 courses since fall 2022.
Over the course of three academic years, the ATU open education resources (OER) initiative has allowed Arkansas Tech students to save approximately $500,000.
“For a lot of the students I’ve worked with, when they see that a class is OER or they find out that OER means saving money, they get really excited,” said Dr. Alexis Johnson, ATU associate professor of communication and interim director of the ATU Center for Faculty LIFE (Learning, Innovation and Faculty Engagement). “I’ve had students specifically seek out OER classes, and some of them have said it has been life changing for them. Having that one cost be less for them can make a huge difference in their mental well-being and their ability to thrive.
“We are so grateful at our center…Sherry worked a lot with the Center for Faculty LIFE and has made a huge impact on so many students’ lives,” continued Johnson. “I don’t think she realizes that what she has done to educate people on what they can do to make their classes more accessible for all students has made a huge difference.”
The U.S. Department of Education has defined openly licensed educational resources as “teaching, learning and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under a license that permits their free use, reuse, modification and sharing with others.”
The effort to introduce open education resources at Arkansas Tech began when Tinerella worked with ATU colleagues Dr. Sarah Gordon, Dr. Jacob Grosskopf, Meredith Lawson, Dr. Jeanine Myers and Dr. Ekong Peters to develop a group project on the topic in Leadership Tech, a professional development program for Arkansas Tech faculty and staff.
“It’s a lot of hard work from our faculty and a lot of open minds to try new things,” said Tinerella when asked about the success of the ATU open education resources program. “When we started this, it was a Leadership Tech project, and it turned into something. It feels good. It means a lot. It really does. It makes everything that I did here meaningful.”
Tinerella’s contributions to Arkansas Tech through Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center also include organizing outreach efforts such as the human library, trivia nights, workshops on how to best utilize the library’s resources and the “Echoes of the River Valley” series, which shared aspects of local cultural heritage with a new generation.
A retirement reception in honor of Tinerella is planned for 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, at Williamson Hall Dining Room.
“She’s going to be greatly missed,” said Eric Rector, ATU library director, when asked about Tinerella. “It’s really amazing how many different things she’s involved in on campus. She serves on multiple committees, she’s the library’s primary outreach person, she oversees the library’s social media, she staffs the reference desk, she supervises public services…it’s a big gap to fill, and we’re going to miss her very much.”
