Community mourns passing of Adrianne Wadewitz

The Wikimedia community has been shocked by the death of Adrianne Wadewitz on 8 April from injuries suffered during a rock-climbing fall on 28 March. Adrianne was a well-known and popular editor on the English Wikipedia, where she authored 36 featured articles and organized edit-a-thons in Los Angeles. She served on the board of the Wiki Education Foundation, and was a vocal public Wikipedia advocate on HASTAC, an online group that works with scholars in the humanities, arts, and sciences on innovative collaborations on new modes of learning and research in higher education.

Adrianne was born on 6 January 1977, and graduated from high school in North Platte, Nebraska, a railroad town of about 25,000 people. She attended college at Columbia University, a prestigious institution in the heart of New York City, and graduated in English with the honor of magna cum laude. After receiving a PhD in British literature from Indiana University, in 2013 she took up a Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She had recently accepted a position at nearby Whittier College where she was recruited to help "develop their digital liberal arts program".

Adrianne took up rock climbing last summer, and she blogged about how it changed her:

A memorial service in Adrianne's honor will take place at Occidental College on 14 April, and in Indiana on 26 April.

On Wikipedia, Adrianne was one of the early editors; she registered on 18 July 2004 as "Awadewit" when she was attending graduate school. She wrote quite a few articles, but zeroed in on her favorite, Mary Wollstonecraft, an 18th-century English writer and women's rights advocate. Over the course of a year, Adrianne wrote most of the entry and shepherded it through several reviews until it became one of Wikipedia's then 1700 featured articles. She worked on an entire series about the author, including all of Wollstonecraft's major works and a timeline of her life. In 2008, Adrianne spoke to the Signpost about Wollstonecraft: "When I first looked at the Mary Wollstonecraft article on Wikipedia, one of the subjects of my dissertation, it looked something like this. I was appalled! One of the first feminists! Dissertations tend to make a person think a topic is the most important thing ever, so, of course, I thought it was a travesty that Wollstonecraft's biography was reduced to this bland recitation of a few facts. I resolved to change that."

Adrianne received high praise from Wikipedia editors for her work on the article. Qp10qp, for example, wrote: "It adds up to a colossal achievement—I mean, what we have here is the equivalent of a book. The thoroughness, attention to detail and discerning study of the best sources simply takes my breath away. Any student of Wollstonecraft who clicks Wikipedia will hardly believe their luck in striking this treasure trove. Wikipedia at its finest." More recently, Liam Wyatt related his belief that the Wollstonecraft articles made Adrianne "the single most cited/read Wollstonecraft scholar ever".

Shortly after Wollstonecraft received its featured status, she agreed to be interviewed on episode 35 of the Wikipedia Weekly podcast by Liam Wyatt. It was titled "Secretly Famous", as it described her as an editor "who has to hide her activities [on Wikipedia] for fear of jeopardizing her career":

It was after this interview that Adrianne became a high-profile member and advocate for Wikipedia in scholarly circles. Liam Wyatt reflected on the 2007 interview in a tribute on Adrianne's talk page, reminiscing that "Not long after [the interview,] you 'came out' and made your wiki-work a core part of your career—using it ... to bolster your academic CV." She would later attend Wikimania 2008 to give a presentation about her use of Wikipedia in the classroom.

In her time on Wikipedia, Adrianne wrote several articles for the Signpost, focusing on how to find reliable sources, a review of Lazy Virtues: Teaching Writing in the Age of Wikipedia, reviewing featured pictures, the 2009 Wikipedia Academy at the National Institute of Health, the 2010 Museums and the web conference, and a controversial article titled "Let's get serious about plagiarism", a problem Wikipedia still wrestles with today.

Aside from her prolific article writing, Adrianne was a champion for Wikipedia's use in the digital humanities, believing it offers one of the best places for research that will have an impact on the public.

Adrianne became a prominent voice in the academic community. The Wiki Education Foundation said in a statement that "Her pathbreaking essay on teaching with Wikipedia, "Wiki-hacking: Opening up the academy with Wikipedia", served as the basis for the preliminary pilot of the program", the Public Policy Initiative. They continued: "Adrianne was one of the first people to volunteer to help support university instructors looking to incorporate Wikipedia as a teaching tool in their classrooms; over the last four years, Adrianne has supported more than 20 courses as a Wikipedia Ambassador as well as teaching two courses herself." She later became a founding board member for the fledgling WEF.

Perhaps even more importantly, she became the face of Wikipedia editing (literally) when her photo was featured on the cover of the first printed "Editing Wikipedia" brochure put out by the Wikimedia Foundation.

She related how her Wikipedia work had benefits in the classroom: "My 'coolness factor' as a teacher has risen. I frequently use Wikipedia as a teaching tool in an effort to explain what a reliable web source is and to teach basic copyediting skills. While discussing these rather mundane topics, I often tell little Wikipedia stories. That I write Wikipedia articles is apparently 'awesome'. I also dramatically rose in my students' estimation when Mary Shelley appeared on the main page on 30 October 2008."

Adrianne's HASTAC blog became a prominent voice in communicating and encouraging academic involvement in Wikipedia. An example of her work there comes from just under a year ago, when she responded to the sexist "American Novelists" category: "If only there were more women on Wikipedia, the argument goes, this would not have happened. But no one has talked to the women who actually are on Wikipedia." In addition to the active public voice she offered, she actively researched the place of humanities method and process within Wikipedia, a product of her extensive collaborations with a number of Wikimedians and academics. Indeed, this underlines the fact that Adrianne was one of the strongest proponents of Wikipedia's efforts to attract more female editors—her wish to enable better communication of underrepresented minority-related content.

As befitting the large number of people she touched both on- and off-wiki, tributes to Adrianne poured in from around the world. Sage Ross blogged: "I remember, for a long time before I met her, wondering what “a wade wit” meant. I remember a Skype conversation, years ago. Adrianne, Phoebe, SJ and I talked for probably three hours about the gender gap on Wikipedia, late into the night. Then and always, she was relentlessly thoughtful and incredibly sharp. As superb as she was in writing, she was even better in live conversation and debate. ... I remember her unfailing kindness and generosity, indomitable work ethic, and voracious appetite for knowledge. She made me proud to call myself a fellow Wikipedian."

On Facebook, Wikipedian and personal friend Sarah Stierch wrote "My heart hurts. Adrianne was a leading voice—and her legacy still is—in the work we have been doing to get more women and more diverse peoples contributing to Wikipedia. ... [She was a] sarcastic, feminist, smart, brilliant, to the point delivery type of academic genius". LiAnna Davis, who worked with Adrianne in the various education programs, commented that "If you've ever read a well-written article about 18th century British literature on Wikipedia, chances are it was that high of quality thanks to Adrianne Wadewitz."

Many users have left thoughts on her English Wikipedia talk page. jbmurray worked with Adrianne on several education-related Wikipedia projects, including the smashing success that was his 2008 "Murder, Madness, and Mayhem: Latin American Literature in Translation" course at the University of British Columbia. He wrote that "I was pleased to meet her a few years ago in Bloomington. And I last saw her a couple of weeks back in LA, where she came across town to have lunch with me ... Adrianne was smart, thoughtful, funny, and a delight to know and work with in every way. She touched many people in many different contexts: teaching, online, rock-climbing ... This is a great loss."

Former Wikimedia Foundation board member Kat Walsh wrote: "Adrianne was one of the best contributors to and speakers about the projects, and her writing on and off the projects was among the best. I was always impressed with her ability to be sharply critical without losing motivation, and to be sharply insightful and intelligent while being approachable. This is a huge loss to all of us—and as a friend who did not see her nearly often enough, I will miss her."

Moni3, making her first edit in 2014, logged in to note how Adrianne made her a better writer: "I was a proficient writer when I wrote my first article here, Ann Bannon. Awadewit reviewed it, encouraged me to make it a Featured Article, then proceeded to block me at every turn so the article eventually became the most informative, authoritative account of Bannon's life available anywhere, in print or online. Awadewit blocked my first attempt to get To Kill A Mockingbird to FA status because the article just was not good enough. Harper Lee outlived Awadewit. Who could wrap their mind around such a thing?"

Wikimedian Alex Stinson, who considered Adrianne his mentor in thinking about Wikipedia's role in the digital humanities and co-wrote an academic paper with her, stated on his blog that "All day I have been shaking from the loss ... the common mission we shared bridging Wikipedia and Digital Humanities community has gotten unimaginably harder. Her contribution was tireless and compelling and finding anyone to fill her shoes will be nigh impossible. This loss seems keen for me: as an aspiring communicator of that space, Adrianne was an incredible mentor and model. She had incredible energy and voice, travelling across the United States and the World to spread that vision. She actively delivered incisive critiques of Wikipedia, the general response of scholars in shaping that space, and the need to place women, the humanities and the underprivileged into our public knowledge record."

HASTAC published an article from Cathy Davidson, a professor at The City University of New York:

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• Though you are no longer with us, we will continue to celebrate the ways you have made us better, and how you inspired us through the edits you've made, the relationships you've fostered and the ideals you brought to the project. Thank you for being bold, and doing the Wikipedia Weekly interview that connected you to the greater community and motivated so many other female editors and academics. Your work and your time with us will live on, as long as Wikipedia lives on. -- Fuzheado | Talk 22:16, 14 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
• So sad when we loose genuine contibutors, and wiki-colleagues like this. We also lost User:Cindamuse just recently, a real double blow. All the best, Rich Farmbrough, 04:10, 13 April 2014 (UTC).[reply]
  
  • Indeed. That's a terrible loss to us all; AW had done more than practically any other Wikipedian for our community. I can only hope that this will encourage some Wikipedians to reconsider risking their lives in such a fashion. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 12:05, 13 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
• Thanks for the thorough report. We will miss Adrianne. A report about Cindamuse will be published next week. --Pine^✉ 06:38, 13 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

• I had occasion to work with AW on several articles when I was first writing featured articles. She was one of the most skillful and brilliant editors ever on Wikipedia. A terrible loss for the free content movement, and for anyone who values good writing on Wikipedia. -- Ssilvers (talk) 16:10, 13 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
• I share the sense of loss, both of a nonpareil editor and of a young person cut off in her prime. So terribly sad. Requiescat! Tim riley (talk) 18:04, 13 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

• I have never before encountered this description, and am unaware of any "controversy" surrounding the Plagiarism Dispatch that Awadewit collaborated on along with several of Wikpedia's finest writers:

  ... a controversial article titled "Let's get serious about plagiarism" ...

  Perhaps someone can point me towards or explain what was "controversial" about that Dispatch, and according to whom? SandyGeorgia (Talk) 19:12, 13 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Since you are new here, young sir, a controversial article is one that has the potential to create or exacerbate conflict, by making people question their proficiency in article-writing by calling it cheating.

Terrible news story, by the way. You should pick something better to write about. This topic is the worst. I hate it. --Moni3 (talk) 21:30, 13 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I wrote that after reading the talk page, SandyGeorgia (talk · contribs), such as this section. Describing it in that way was not intended as an insult, and indeed, the entire article is meant as a tribute. Moni3 (talk · contribs), I fully agree. Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 18:34, 14 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

• I miss you Adrianne (I also miss you, Cindy, and no, I haven't forgotten about you, you diva..<3 ) SarahStierch (talk) 02:49, 14 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
• ...Ye gods. I haven't talked to her for a while, but just the other day I was talking about some of the things I learned from her - Mary Wollstonecraft's didactic novel for children, Original Stories from Real Life, and the structure of the development of English children's literature from didactic novels being all that was suitable, to an appreciation for allegory and fantasy. More than that, I learned a lot about how literature itself works, how movements grow, become outdated, and are replaced. I remember wondering what she was doing, and wishing I could get in touch with her again. More than that, I remember her. She was an amazing person, full of energy, enthusiasm, and kindness. She will be missed. Adam Cuerden ^(talk) 19:08, 15 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

This may be crazy, but, is there any chance of an article on her? Adam Cuerden ^(talk) 19:10, 15 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think she was notable enough as an academic yet. In 20 years she might have been. --Pine^✉ 02:17, 16 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with Adam. Is being a notable volunteer for Wikimedia (a global, notable organization) not enough of a good reason? Moreover, I get about 5,580 google search results ([1]) and even some in GoogleBooks ([2]). The fact that The Signpost was even able to make such a long story is evidence of her notability. Regards.--MarshalN20 ^Talk 18:02, 16 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@MarshalN20: She fails WP:PROF as well as WP:GNG and WP:ANYBIO. She was a good editor. I was glad to attend her memorial service at Oxy. That's where the story ends. Chris Troutman (talk) 18:22, 16 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I have waited, in humility and sadness, to ask my question. I ask this as a former rock climber myself, and also, I started out here on Wikipedia five years ago writing biographies of rock climbers and mountaineers. I survived a dangerous rock climbing fall myself 35 years ago. So I confess that I am curious, in what I think is a positive way, about the circumstances of her death. What, precisely, went wrong? Perhaps the understandable and justifiable grief about her death can, at least in part, be channeled into improved coverage of climbing safety here on Wikipedia. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 04:37, 17 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The prurient in me wants to know the circumstances of both deaths; but in the end, it's trivial compared with the fact of the cruel robbery, and dignity and privacy seem to be more important right now. I'm interested to know whether the community would accept notability for a deceased Wikimedian in terms of their publications for the movement. Tony (talk) 06:00, 17 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Someone should write about it, but there is the customary time of bereavement that we must allow her loved ones. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Joe Nicotera (talk • contribs) 00:00, 18 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Adam Cuerden and MarshalN20 I think the case for an article is improving.

• http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/19/business/media/adrianne-wadewitz-37-wikipedia-editor-dies-after-rock-climbing-fall.html?_r=0
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Media_tribute_to_Adrianne_Wadewitz,_Occidental_College.jpg
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wadewitz_Tribute_Edit-a-thons

If her death or events connected with her death are noted then that helps. --Pine^✉ 23:35, 18 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the notification Pine. I also appreciate Chris' explanation, but I must respectfully disagree that this is where Adrianne's story ends. I am not claiming that she was a notable academic, even though she certainly had the potential. She was a notable Wikipedian, both as a volunteer researcher/editor and advocate, and I consider that this should amount to something. Regards.--MarshalN20 ^Talk 00:25, 19 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]