Karl E. Burgher, Econ’84, PhD MinE’85, a former Missouri S&T faculty member, has joined the open educational resource (OER) movement with the release of his management eBook/textbook, Volunteering, published by Ventus LLC. OER content is often free, or of very low cost, to students and the public. Targeted ads inserted into the text help defray the cost of the book.

“We need to create an open and free network of faculty who become familiar with and use the available, and quite organized, free resources, books and texts found on the web,” says Burgher. “I believe textbook costs have become unreasonable, and we need to encourage faculty to lose the $100 to $200 books and utilize the numerous textbooks available at little or no cost.”

Burgher recently stepped down as chief strategy officer at Indiana State University, where he implemented the school’s strategic plan over the last four years overseeing 45 teams of faculty and staff. He joined the Indiana State faculty as a professor of construction management and is now on sabbatical, living in St. James, Mo.

In 2015, he will focus on managing Sunshine Valley Communications, a non-profit startup he initiated to help rural communities manage projects, often with volunteers. His co-author, Mike Snyder, is director of enterprise services and executive director of strategic initiatives at Indiana State. The book is available for download at bookboon.com.