OpenStax Making Diversity Updates

OpenStax

Photo: Jemel Agulto/OpenStax

OpenStax, Rice University's open educational resources initiative, is reviewing and updating images, examples and other materials in its textbooks to improve diversity and representation. The organization engaged its users as well as advocates for racial, ethnic, LGBTQ and gender equity to guide its diversity efforts.

"The updates OpenStax is currently making won't just impact existing titles; these considerations are being made and steps are being taken to ensure that future textbook content accurately represents historical accounts, society and more,"explained OpenStax Managing Director Daniel Williamson, in a statement.

The improvements will cut across subject areas, including everything business, science and mathematics to the humanities. "Our Sociology textbook, for example, which deals closely with issues of race, gender and inequality, will have new topics added and existing topics revised,"noted OpenStax Editorial Director Anthony Palmiotto. "Meanwhile, we are in the process of developing an entirely new English Composition textbook that invites students to participate in the ongoing dialogue over the power of language to shape identity and culture. To bring forth diverse experiences and amplify unique voices, the book will feature a powerful group of trailblazers from a variety of backgrounds, including Frederick Douglass, Alice Wong and Tara Westover. Our other textbooks — both previously published and in development — are undergoing similar changes to reflect the lived experiences of our users and the inclusive approaches of each discipline."

The new content will begin with the publication of the Sociology 3e and updated Biology 2e textbooks in May. Users can provide feedback on any textbook via its errata submission tool.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • closeup of hands typing on laptop with AI imagery overlaid

    Copilot Fall Update Introduces New Features

    Microsoft has unveiled a major update to its Copilot AI platform, adding new features to make the system more personalized, collaborative, and integrated across its suite of products.

  • Jasper Halekas, instrument lead for the Analyzer for Cusp Electrons (ACE), checks final calibration. ACE was designed and built at the University of Iowa for the TRACERS mission.

    TRACERS: The University of Iowa Leads NASA-Funded Space Weather Research with Twin Satellites

    Working in tandem, the recently launched TRACERS satellites enable new measurement strategies that will produce significant data for the study of space weather. And as lead institution for the mission, the University of Iowa upholds its long-held value of bringing research collaborations together with academics.

  • padlock and circuit patterns

    Veeam to Acquire Securiti AI to Combine Data Resilience and AI Security

    Veeam Software has announced plans to acquire Securiti AI for $1.725 billion to unite data resilience, privacy, and AI trust in a platform aimed at helping organizations securely manage and unlock the value of their data across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

  • stylized figures, resumes, a graduation cap, and a laptop interconnected with geometric shapes

    OpenAI to Launch AI-Powered Jobs Platform

    OpenAI announced it will launch an AI-powered hiring platform by mid-2026, directly competing with LinkedIn and Indeed in the professional networking and recruitment space. The company announced the initiative alongside an expanded certification program designed to verify AI skills for job seekers.