Empowering diverse stories of cultural heritage
Tony Pankuch works as an archivist for the Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology at the University of Akron in Ohio, where part of their work involves increasing the representation of diverse voices from the institution’s collections in their programming, exhibitions, and social media. So when Tony saw an opportunity … Continued
Bringing U.S. women’s history to the public
Sarah Emma Edmonds was a veteran of the 2nd Michigan Infantry during the American Civil War — in which she served as a man named Frank Thompson. Or did she? Until earlier this year, Wikipedia’s article on her had a warning banner indicating the article contained disputed information. That made the article on Edmonds ripe … Continued
Centering diversity in stories of Mississippi’s history
As an exhibits content specialist for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jessica O’Connor’s job is to help center diverse voices in the stories they tell. So when she heard about the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative (AWHI) Wiki Scholars course for Smithsonian Affiliates, focused on improving Wikipedia biographies of notable American women in … Continued
Access to knowledge through Wikipedia
Art Blaser a Professor of Peace Studies and Political Science at Chapman University. He co-directs Chapman’s Disability Studies minor. My main goal in teaching, inside and outside of the classroom, has always been to enable access to knowledge, my own as well as my students’. Other goals include making the world a better place, and … Continued
My good deed this year? A Wikipedia assignment
Shira Klein, Associate Professor of History at Chapman University, has been teaching with Wikipedia for nine years. She recently took a Wiki Scholar course focused on expanding Wikipedia’s coverage of COVID-19. Even before Covid hit, I had no time for community service. Sure, I wanted to volunteer for a social cause, to do some good … Continued
Celebrating and recognizing Black women in psychology on Wikipedia
Dr. Kirsten Westmoreland recently completed her PhD in Psychological Science at the University of Bristol. To stay connected with the scientific community, she joined the Association for Psychological Sciences (APS) and has been even more involved during the pandemic with the rise of online webinars. When she received an email from APS about the Black … Continued
Rediscovering my love of science by editing Wikipedia
Jaqueline Haces is a Food Chemist, MBA and PhD from Mexico City. She’s been working in the pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years and her current job involves analyzing global regulatory aspects of e-commerce and e-health. She’s been a columnist for industry journals, and is an advocate of diversity and inclusion. I’ve always been a … Continued
Building my Wikipedia confidence
Delia Steverson, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of African American Literature at the University of Florida. Her classes work most closely with the WikiProject African diaspora. I assigned a Wikipedia project in the fall of 2019 to my honor’s undergraduate Gender and Sexualities in African American Literature course after several other colleagues mentioned the project’s … Continued
A Wikipedian six years in the making
In 2014, I joined Wiki Education as Program Manager for the Wikipedia Student Program. Six years later, I can now proudly call myself a real Wikipedian! Though I had never edited Wikipedia myself before joining Wiki Education, I believed whole-heartedly in its mission of making knowledge free and accessible to all and was thrilled to be part of … Continued
The wonderful world of Wikipedia
Yohanna White graduated from the University of Georgia in May 2020 with an MS in Chemistry. She recently took the Wiki Scholars Informing Citizens training to learn how she can expand representation in Wikipedia. Her past community efforts to diversify STEM workplaces for women, underrepresented populations in higher education, and undocumented students inspired her to … Continued