The Sentinel Stallions Newsletter Spring 2021

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT
AND DEVELOPMENT (UAD)
North American University Receives Major OER Development Grants from THECB
North American University is proud to announce it is the recipient of a grant in the amount of $110,000 from the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board (THECB) for the OER Course Development and Implementation Grant Program. The funding is
for the development of four OER (Open Educational Resources) courses: ECON 2311, ECON 2312, MATH 1314 and HIST 1302.
The faculty recipients are Dr. Oscar Gonzales, Prof. Rachel Gurrala, Prof. Larry Whittington, and Prof. Christopher Gerdes.
Dr. Oscar Gonzales and co-applicant Prof. Rachel Gurrala received funding for the development of two OER courses: ECON
2311 – Principles of Macroeconomics, and ECON 2312 - Principles of Microeconomics. Their work will include the creation of
twenty (20) test and question banks and incorporation of four (4) online economic simulation labs for use in multiple learning
management systems which include Moodle, Jenzabar, D2L, and Canvas Learning Management Systems.
Prof. Larry Whittington received funding for the development of OER course MATH 1314 - College Algebra. His work will
include the development of four textbook question banks that will be used in conjunction with OpenStax’s College Algebra
textbook. Questions that align with the textbook will be created and organized to follow the structure of the text. With the
completed question banks formatted for Canvas, Moodle and Jenzabar eLearning; resources including online homework,
online worksheets and online assessments can be created easily without additional cost to the student, faculty member and
institution.
Prof. Christopher Gerdes received funding for the development of OER for the course HIST 1312 - US History (also equivalent
of History 1302). His work will include the creation of unique discussion prompts for US History 1302 online courses. The
format of these prompts will work with the following systems: Moodle LMS and Canvas LMS. The OER will also include the
following: development of four discussion activities banks, six unit-homework assignments with worksheets and self-tests;
development of six video tutorials, and six video lectures.
The implementation of the newly developed OER materials will begin in the Fall 2021 semester. Other NAU offices that will be
involved in the development, implementation, and assessment process will be the NAU Library, the Information Technology
Office, and the Office of Advancement and Development. In addition, NAU faculty will partner with faculty at Houston Community
College for these specific courses which have been identified by THECB as high-level transfer and foundation courses.
North American University Co-Sponsored International Women’s Day 2021
North American University co-sponsored a virtual International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month program with the
United Nations Association, the Raindrop Foundation, The Links, Inc., (a women’s organization), and the Dialogue Institute.
The program included a keynote address by Dr. Teta Banks of NAU, and several women leaders in various professions. They
included Dr. Carla Braxton, Chief Quality Officer of Methodist Hospital; Ms. Lisa Langston, CEO of Fort bend Independent
School District; Sinem Guven, CEO of the Giraffe Academy; and Adriana Koch, as moderator.
The panelists discussed the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on women. These ranged from economic, educational,
healthcare, healthiness, and management. Women have been the most negatively affected, have suffered the largest job
loss, and are responsible for multiple roles including care for the children, care for the elderly continuation of work from
home, and their own mental and physical health. Panelists shared challenges many women have had to endure, especially
women in marginalized minorities. They also shared recommendations for women individually as well as collectively in their
communities. Dr. Banks shared the opportunities that NAU is providing in offering online educational delivery and outreach
programs that assist the community.