2025:Program/Wikiverse meets CUNYverse: 25 Colleges Blooming Across NYC
Session title: Wikiverse meets CUNYverse: 25 Colleges Blooming Across NYC
- Session type: Demonstration
- Track: Education
- Language: en
đ„ Session recording: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikiverse_meets_CUNYverse_-_25_Colleges_Blooming_Across_NYC.webm đ„
The City University of New York has had a long engagement with various aspects of the Wikimedia movement for the last 10+ years. In 2025, CUNY welcomed its first Wikimedian-in-Residence, Richard Knipel. This session will explore how CUNY is using that position to institutionalize and grow its role across 25 colleges and the many academic units that serve this system. Based at the Office of Library Services as a hub, and with the support of a dedicated documentation role as well, the goal is to bring together aspects of the university system as they overlap with Wikimedia projects in a cross-disciplinary manner.
A vision will be shared with participants of cross-institutional efforts blooming in the shape of a flower, and we will lead a demonstration of how participants can draw their own flower models.
Description
There will be a demonstration of stakeholder-mapping and content-mapping across the City University of New York's 25 colleges to explore how a public university system in a diverse city can really embrace and institutionalize the Wikimedia movement as part of its everyday practices. We will explore the history and future of on-the-ground wiki work at the City University of New York and analogous institutions, including an exercise where participants will be able to map their own institutions to matching wikiprojects and collaborative efforts, both existing and potential.
In February 2025, the City University of New York welcomed its first Wikimedian-in-Residence, Richard Knipel. Richardâs role is funded by a 2-year grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies that includes support for a part-time documentarian to evaluate and communicate about the project as well as funding to support students and faculty who engage in research and teaching projects connected to the initiative. Richard works out of CUNYâs Office of Library Services where he collaborates closely with the CUNY staff responsible for archives and open educational resources across the universityâs 25 campuses. At the outset of their initiative, the project team sent out initial announcements about the university having a Wikimedian-in-Residence and then strategized together on how best to prioritize and leverage the responses of interest from across the university.
Participants will get insight into our initial outreach areas and diagrammatic modeling of collaborations across the system to envision its blooming in the shape of a flower, and we will lead a demonstration of how participants can draw their own flower models, building on local strengths at their particular institutions and discovering fruitful overlaps within the global Wikimedia movement.
Goals of this session include a better understanding the history of on-the-ground wiki engagement at diverse public university systems, the approach that the CUNY team is taking now in building on observed connections and areas of interest, and developing a visionary approach into how one might help analogous efforts bloom at your own institutions.
- How does your session relate to the event theme, Wikimania@20 â Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability?
Having a truly âinclusionistâ approach to our work across wiki platforms strengthens the quality and reach of our efforts across a wide public university system in a diverse city. By implementing a âpeople firstâ mindset and carefully considering the needs and strengths of our stakeholders, we can find ways to help partners achieve their own goals while contributing to our initiatives. Wiki platforms are strengthened by a broad public awareness of their functions and by the diversity of their contributors. Taking time to plan for the interests of a broad group of stakeholders protects and enriches wiki platforms for the future.
- What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?
Everyone can participate in this session
Resources
Speakers
- Richard Knipel (User:Pharos)
- Richard Knipel (User:Pharos) is an organizer of Wikimedia New York City and has served as Wikimedian-in-Residence at several institutions.
- Natalie Milbrodt
- Natalie Milbrodt serves as the inaugural University Archivist for the City University of New York (CUNY), the largest urban public university in the US. In that role, she is leading a three-year survey of archival collections across CUNYâs 25 campuses and implementing strategies and systems for increased collection discovery and use. Her responsibilities include coordination and planning for digital preservation and records management across the organization. Before joining CUNY, Milbrodt served as the founding Director of the award-winning Queens Memory Project, a community-led archival program that has collected over 1000 oral histories along with photographs and other local history records. She also served for a decade as the Metadata Services Coordinator for the Queens Public Library, responsible for the libraryâs cataloging and digitization activities for their over seven million collection items. Milbrodt serves on the Oral History Associationâs Metadata Working Group, as an organizer for the Community Archiving Happy Hour and NYC Neighborhood Oral History meetups, and as an advisory board member for New York State Historical Records, The Municipal Art Society of New Yorkâs Enduring Culture Initiative, Design Dream Lab, and Wikitongues.