Nine higher education institutional administrators who embraced and supported OER (Open Educational Resources) implementation on their campuses were interviewed. As a generic, qualitative, inductive study, the goal of the research was to uncover what motivated them to lend their time and energy to such an initiative; how they perceived the value of OER and its potential role at their institutions; and how they negotiated competing interests on campus, including those of bookstores and faculty who received royalties for commercially published textbooks they had authored. Three overarching themes emerged from the interviews. These administrators 1) viewed students as their top priority, rather than pleasing higher administration and the faculty; 2) observed that OER work on campus needed to be better organized with a department designated as a "home" for the work and with an individual designated as a "guardian" of the work; 3) found that working with OER impacted their individual careers, providing them with leadership opportunities and a way to rebel against institutional and industry trends they perceived as harming and undervaluing students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]