Honorary Resident Wikipedian

This program ran from its inception in 2014 until late 2025, when it was broadened via the Future Knowledge Fellowship Program to explore new platforms and knowledge structures including Wikipedia and well beyond—continuing the legacy of the Wikipedian-in-Residence program, and its emphasis on collaboration and partnership. You can learn more about this evolution here, and at the Future Knowledge Fellowship Program’s page.

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The ETCL partners with INKE, the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and the University of Victoria Libraries to appoint an Honorary Resident Wikipedian to bridge academic and non-academic communities by consulting on Wikipedia pages, giving talks, and leading Wikipedia edit-a-thons. Dr. Christian Vandendorpe (U Ottawa) served in this role from 2014–16, Dr. Constance Crompton (U Ottawa) served from 2017–18, Dr. Erin Glass (U California San Diego) served from 2019–20, Silvia Gutiérrez De la Torre (El Colegio de México) served from 2020–21, Nastasia Herold (U Leipzig) served from 2021–22, Dr. Amanda Madden (George Mason U) 2023–24, and Dr. Amanda Lawrence is the 2024–25 Honorary Resident Wikipedian.  

Please click here for a recording of Amanda Madden’s November 2023 online talk: “Can a University Education Be Open Source? Wikiversity, Open Educational Resources, and the Future of the University”

Please click here for a recording of Nastasia Herold and Thérèse Ottawa’s October 2021 online talk: “Ethics and Responsibilities of Open Access and its Realization in the Atikamekw First Nation’s Wikipedia”

Please click here for a recording of Silvia Gutiérrez De la Torre’s March 2021 online talk: “Wikidata: The Linked Open Data Platform Everyone Can Contribute To”

Additional media coverage:

• “University of Victoria Announces New Honorary Resident Wikipedian.” CBC News.
• “UVic’s Resident Wikipedian.” Times Colonist.
• “Honorary Resident Wikipedian: Professor Christian Vandendorpe.” The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences Blog.
• “Virtually Here: UVic’s first Honorary Resident Wikipedian.” The Ring.
• “Introducing UVic’s Resident Wikipedian.” The Martlet.
• “Former U of O Prof Named First ‘Honorary Wikipedian’ in Canada.” The Fulcrum.
• “Virtually Here: UVic Welcomes its First Honorary Resident Wikipedian.” UVic Communications.
• “Wikipedia: A Gift to the World.” University Affairs / Affaires universitaires
• “The University of Victoria has its Own Wikipedia Ambassador.” CKNW 980 AM.
• “U in the Ring: Valerie Cortez, Dr. Christian Vandendorpe, & Dr. Nikolai Dechev.” CFUV 101.9 FM.
• Christian’s role was also featured by Huffington Post Canada, L’Oreille tendue, Greater Victoria Public Library, Wikimedia Outreach, Nuzzel, UNews, and 2cultures.net