Lauren Ray selected for SPARC Open Education Leadership Program
Lauren Ray, Open Education and Psychology Librarian at the University of Washington Libraries, has been selected as one of the 2018-2019 cohort of 24 fellows selected from SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) member libraries across the U.S. and Canada to participate in their intensive Open Education Leadership Program.
The fellows were selected from a broad and competitive application pool.
Lizabeth "Betsy" Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries, expresses the importance of open access publishing, "in line with our mission of connecting people with knowledge, the Libraries and the UW Faculty have joined dozens of other universities worldwide in approving a resolution to instate an Open Access Policy to increase open access to knowledge while protecting the rights of authors.
"Lauren will be part of the leadership at the Libraries and the University in our ongoing quest to make resources available to a wider number of students and scholars."
Launched last year, the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program offers intensive training to empower library professionals with the knowledge, skills, and connections to lead successful open education initiatives that benefit students. The two-semester program blends online, peer-to-peer, and project-based learning to build a comprehensive understanding of the open education space coupled with practical know-how to take action on campus and beyond. Fellows participate as part of a cohort that becomes a vibrant community of practice, enhanced by expert instructors and mentorship support.
At UW Libraries, Lauren leads conversations around Open Educational Resources, working with campus partners to support the adoption and publication of affordable and openly licensed materials. She also provides support to the UW’s Department of Psychology, through research consultation and instructional services. Prior to this role, she lived in Berlin, Germany, where she provided online research and instructional support to students (at UW and international institutions), and led qualitative user studies focused on improving online library services. She also led the opening and development of the UW Libraries Research Commons, a collaborative and non-traditional library space dedicated to experimentation and interdisciplinary connection. In addition to open scholarship, her research interests include information equity, service design, libraries as organizations, and critical information literacy.