Donna Harp Ziegenfuss, EdD, is a Librarian in the J Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah. I received a BS in Biology/Medical Technology from Millersville University, an MS in Applied Technology/Instructional Design from Chestnut Hill College, and an Ed.D. in Academic Leadership Higher Education from Widener University, all in Pennsylvania. I have over 14 years of experience working in academic libraries, over 20 years of experience in instructional design and teaching in traditional, hybrid, and online formats, and almost 25 years of experience working in the area of faculty and professional development. In 2021, I was one of five Distinguished University of Utah Teaching Award recipients. As the College of Education librarian liaison, I support faculty and mentor students from the Educational Leadership and Policy, Educational Psychology, Education Culture and Society, Special Education , and The Urban Institute for Teacher Education. I also support faculty and students in the Department of Biology. As a qualitative researcher, I teach for-credit graduate-level qualitative research methods courses as an adjunct in the College of Education. I also mentor students in qualitative research methodologies and tools from many different disciplines across campus.

As a faculty member, I conduct research on Open Educational Resources (OERs) and use OERs in my own teaching, I see the value of opening up and re-thinking my educational practice. Open education practices can help personalize my course designs and build stronger relationship with my students. I believe that changing student populations, changing technology tools, emerging learning environments, and a refocus on assessment and accountability create exciting opportunities for librarians and teachers to focus on learning environments, tools, teaching strategies, and learner perceptions.