Excellence in Open Education Award

Veronica Baker

The Excellence in Open Education Award is presented to Veronica Baker, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. This award recognizes a faculty member with profound contributions to open education, including maximizing the economic impact of educational materials and reducing cost to students. Sponsored by the MSU Library, the award includes a $2,000 honorarium. 

Baker coordinates sections of introductory calculus courses that impact hundreds of MSU students. Over several years, she has shifted the administration of those courses to include more open-source resources for students in completing homework and accessing course materials, resulting in annual savings of over $150,000 across the more than 800 students who take Calculus I each academic year.  

"Veronica Baker has worked to enact the day-to-day implementation of the [open-source] text in Calculus I by writing original lab activities to accompany the use of the text and by supporting instructors to implement the new materials,” said Elizabeth Burroughs, head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, in a nomination letter for Baker. “Over 800 students each year enroll in Calculus I, and they will use the same text as they continue to M172."  

“After many years of work, students in Calculus I no longer have any additional out-of-pocket expenses beyond tuition,” said Baker. “This has been a long-term personal goal for me, and I am very pleased that it is now accomplished.”