Professor Katie Holt appointed to Wiki Education’s Humanities and Social Justice Advisory Committee

Katie Holt, Aileen Dunham Professor of History at The College of Wooster, was appointed to the Humanities and Social Justice Advisory Committee for Wiki Education. A spinoff of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that runs Wikipedia, Wiki Education supports and runs programs that seek to build connections between universities and Wikipedia.

The committee is composed of higher education faculty from across the United States and advises Wiki Education’s ongoing work to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of historically underrepresented subjects and people. Each member brings unique expertise in their subject matter and a passion for teaching with Wikipedia. Holt was recognized for helping Wooster students evaluate Wikipedia articles and make well-researched contributions to address gaps in the resource’s coverage of Latin American and Latinx topics. 

“It is important to me to serve on the Wiki Education Humanities and Social Justice Advisory Committee because while I’ve seen first-hand the impact Wooster students are making improving the quality and scope of information on Wikipedia and the sense of satisfaction they get from their contributions, this is a new opportunity for me to network with faculty at colleges and universities across the country and learn about their experiences,” Holt said. 

Holt has used Wikipedia as a teaching tool in her classes since 2017 and enjoys how these assignments can both improve students’ information literacy and serve as a format for them to make meaningful contributions to improve public, freely accessible information on topics they are passionate about.  As of February 2025, Holt’s students have collectively improved 455 articles, added more than 310,600 words and 3,700 references, and received more than 30.7 million page views. Holt has also presented on teaching with Wikipedia as a pedagogical strategy for addressing gaps in information about Latin American and Latinx history at conferences including the 2025 American Historical Association conference, and at Kenyon College’s Center for Innovative Pedagogy What Works Conference in 2023 alongside her colleague Emily Armour, educational technologist. 

In an article on Wiki Education’s website, Holt emphasizes how empowering and impactful the Wikipedia coursework has been for her students. “Students are rightfully proud of how their research and writing makes a freely accessible resource like Wikipedia stronger and more representative,” she said. 

Posted in Faculty, News on March 12, 2025.