The Big Ten Academic Alliance Center for Library Programs, Lyrasis, and the California Digital Library have been awarded a $206,886 Gates Foundation grant to map and strengthen Diamond Open Access scholarly publishing in the United States. Running through February 2027, the project will advance non-commercial, peer-reviewed journals that are free to publish in and free to access, eliminating commercial barriers and amplifying diverse voices in academic research.

The Big Ten Open Books project has released its second 100-title collection, focused on Indigenous North Americans. Developed in partnership with eight Big Ten-affiliated university presses, these high-quality scholarly works are now openly available to read and reuse at no cost. The collection highlights Indigenous history, culture, and contributions from the 15th century to today. This open-access initiative supports the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s vision for broad, equitable knowledge sharing and a sustainable future for scholarly publishing.

On May 29, 2025, the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) and Springer Nature announced a groundbreaking two-year Open Publishing Agreement; the first of its kind in the Americas to offer truly unlimited and uncapped open access publishing in Springer’s hybrid journals. Key highlights: - No fees, no caps, no limits: Faculty, students, and staff at participating BTAA institutions can publish open access articles without paying article processing charges (APCs). - Simplified publishing: Authors retain rights to their work, which is published under a Creative Commons license and made immediately accessible. - Expanded access: All participating campuses gain full read access to over 2,200 Springer hybrid journals, including titles from Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, Adis, and nature.com. - Operational efficiency: The agreement eliminates administrative overhead by centralizing payments and streamlining workflows. - Participating institutions include 14 major research universities such as the University of Michigan, University of Illinois, and University of Wisconsin, with more eligible to join. This agreement reflects a shared commitment to open science, increased research visibility, and equitable access to scholarly publishing.

The Big Ten Academic Alliance congratulates the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) and the University of Illinois (Illinois) at Urbana-Champaign College of Education on receiving the 2025 Senator Paul Simon Awards for Campus Internationalization, presented by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. These prestigious awards underscore the universities’ remarkable dedication to global learning and the transformative ways they are shaping higher education.