About Michelle

Educator and Academic Librarian

Michelle Reed is Assistant Professor and Head of the Scholarly Commons in the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In this role she builds collaborative relationships with partners from within the library and across campus to support the use and exploration of digital tools, broaden access to scholarship, and enhance the university’s research output.

Prior to joining the Scholarly Commons, Michelle served as Associate Librarian and Director of Open Educational Resources at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, where she led efforts to support the adoption, modification, and creation of open educational resources (OER). She oversaw the Libraries’ OER Department, which manages OER publishing services for Mavs Open Press and the UTA CARES Grant Program, and assisted educators in developing learning opportunities that foster collaboration, increase engagement, and empower students as content creators.

At the University of Kansas Libraries, Michelle supported both information literacy and scholarly communication as an Undergraduate Learning Specialist in the Libraries’ Research and Learning Division. She also worked as technical writer and editor for a Department of Energy waste management center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and for a small research and manufacturing business specializing in neurophysiological research tools in Lawrence, Kansas.

Michelle is a presenter and curriculum designer for the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) OER and Affordability Roadshow. She previously served as a member of the University of Texas System Affordable Learning Accelerator Task Force, the Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS³) Collaborative, and the Pressbooks Customer Advisory Board. She is a former fellow of the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program and the Open Education Group’s OER Research Fellowship Program.