Harvard FAS voted SPARC Innovators

SPARC has named the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, USA as the newest SPARC Innovators. This decision followed a unanimous vote in support of a policy that ensures open access to the faculty’s published research results.

Its vote in February of this year made the Harvard faculty the first in the USA to embrace an open-access directive and the first to grant permission to the university to make its articles openly available. The policy, drafted by a 10-member provost’s committee, was ratified by unanimous vote of a quorum of faculty members.

‘Harvard’s success was possible because of the determination of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to ensure the widest exposure of their research. We hope their forward-looking step will serve as invitation to other campuses and departments of all kinds to explore their own policies for research access,’ said Heather Joseph, executive director of SPARC.

The SPARC Innovator programme recognises advances in scholarly communication propelled by an individual, institution, or group.