Dr. Zachary McDowell Honored with Two Wikimedia Foundation Grants
Awarded Project Titled "Establishing a Critical Digital Commons Research Network"
Associate Professor Zachary McDowell has recently been awarded two grants from the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that supports Wikipedia and its sister projects.
Most recently, Professor McDowell received an additional $4,941.05 grant to help fund the events of "Wiki Week" (September 15–18, 2025) at the University of Illinois Chicago. The event will bring together students, faculty, and community members to explore Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement as tools for research, teaching, and public knowledge creation.
This follows an earlier award of $14,300 from the Wikimedia Research Fund for his project “Establishing a Critical Digital Commons Research Network.” The project aims to create a collaborative research community focused on critical approaches to digital commons, open knowledge, and participatory culture.
Together, these grants highlight Professor McDowell’s leadership in advancing scholarship and community engagement around open knowledge, and they underscore UIC’s growing role in global conversations about digital literacy and the future of online collaboration.
Congratulations to Professor McDowell on these exciting achievements!