Professor Anne Marenco, Professor of Sociology at College of the Canyons, has been a tireless advocate for open educational resources (OER), leading efforts to adapt, author, and expand the use of open textbooks at her institution and beyond. Motivated by the financial barriers her students faced in purchasing commercial textbooks, she began exploring OER in 2009. Her first major project was adapting an open Introduction to Sociology textbook—originally authored by Professors Ron Hammond and Phil Cheney of Utah Valley University—which she and colleagues substantially revised to better fit the needs of their students.
Encouraged by the positive feedback from students, Professor Marenco went on to collaborate with other faculty to adapt an open textbook for Sociology of Criminology and later co-author a new open textbook for Sociology of Gender. Today, twelve Sociology faculty members at College of the Canyons use open textbooks, benefiting up to 1,200 students annually and saving them approximately $180,000 each year. Many of these faculty also teach at other colleges, further extending the benefits of OER adoption across institutions.
Remarkably, Professor Marenco has undertaken all of these projects without grants, stipends, or research assistants. Driven by her commitment to student success, she has not only ensured access to high-quality, affordable learning materials but has also inspired and empowered her colleagues to join the OER movement.
