Heterodox Academy

We are a politically diverse group of more than 1,800 professors and graduate students who have come together to improve the quality of research and education in universities by increasing viewpoint diversity, mutual understanding, and constructive disagreement.

WHAT IS VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY? WATCH OUR VIDEO.

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How Does HxA Help?

We offer a range of resources designed to cultivate reasoned conversations, deeper empathy, the ability to see beyond one’s own perspective, and a capacity for meaningful engagement with diverse others. We partner with professors, administrators, and students to depolarize college campuses and classrooms.

Key Tools:

An interactive, psychology-based platform designed to depolarize campuses and foster mutual understanding across differences.

A self-report tool you can use to assess which students are feeling intimidated to speak up about which topics and why.

Rates America’s top 200 universities according to the degree of viewpoint diversity you can expect to find on campus.

LATEST BLOG POSTS

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- HxA Open Mind Award Winners: Robert P. George and Cornel West
  In the marketplace of ideas, mergers can amplify impact. Soon after political scientist Charles Murray and professor Allison Stanger were physically attacked by students and outside agitators at Middlebury College in March 2017, two eminent and politically-divergent academics came together to offer an inspiring statement on academic principles. Conservative Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University teamed up with self-described “radical Democrat” Cornel West, Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy in the Divinity School and the Department of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University. Together they wrote the statement, “Truth Seeking, Democracy, and Freedom of Thought and Expression.” The statement is a clarion call for those who support constructive disagreement, particularly students and professors who have made the university system their home. It reads, in part: All of us should be willing—even eager—to engage with anyone who is prepared to do business in the currency of truth-seeking discourse by offering reasons, marshaling evidence, and making arguments. The more important the subject under discussion, the more willing we should be to listen and engage—especially if the person with whom we are in conversation will challenge our deeply held—even our most cherished and identity-forming—beliefs. It is all-too-common these days for people to try to immunize from criticism opinions that happen to be dominant in their particular communities. Sometimes this is done by questioning the motives and thus stigmatizing those who dissent from prevailing opinions; or by disrupting their presentations; or by demanding that they be excluded from campus or, if they have already been invited, disinvited. Sometimes students and faculty members turn their backs on speakers whose opinions they don’t like or simply walk out and refuse to listen to those whose convictions offend their values. Of course, the right to peacefully protest, including on campuses, is sacrosanct. But before exercising that right, each of us should ask: Might it not be better to listen respectfully and try to learn from a speaker with whom I disagree? Might it better serve the cause of truth-seeking to engage the speaker in frank civil discussion? If more within the university system were to value and seek out viewpoint diversity, our universities would be healthier and more exciting places to live and work. As Professors George and West note, such an ethos “protects us against dogmatism and groupthink, both of which are toxic to the health of academic communities and to the functioning of democracies.” Thousands of professors, students, alumni, and administrators endorsed the statement online. What elevated Professors George and West above other highly-qualified nominees for the HxA Open Mind Leadership Award was their proactive and explicit commitment to model viewpoint diversity. Longtime personal friends, they co-taught courses when West was a professor at Princeton, and they have spoken at a variety of campus conferences and other events about establishing a standard for promoting open inquiry and constructive disagreement to be emulated across the country. To wit, here is video of their shared talk at the U.S. Air Force’s 2018 National Character & Leadership Symposium: As leaders in scholarship and now of the rapidly growing movement to advance viewpoint diversity and reform American higher education, Professors George and West truly deserve to share the HxA Open Mind Leadership Award, given to those who have most effectively championed the principles of viewpoint diversity, mutual understanding, and constructive disagreement in the academy. See the entire group of HxA Open Mind Award winners >> Opinions expressed are those of the author(s). Publication does not imply endorsement by Heterodox Academy or any of its members. We welcome your comments below. Feel free to challenge and disagree, but please try to model the sort of respectful and constructive criticism that makes viewpoint diversity most valuable. Comments that include obscenity or that sound like a tirade or screed are likely to be deleted. ... Read more...
- HxA Open Mind Award Winner: University of Chicago
  A number of colleges and universities are making inroads to strengthen viewpoint diversity on their campuses. Yet, no institution of higher learning has taken as many concrete and substantive steps – and, in turn, become as influential in the debate around open inquiry – as the University of Chicago. The HxA Open Mind Awards Committee awarded Chicago Heterodox Academy’s first-ever Open Mind Award for Institutional Excellence for this very reason. The university’s leadership has been an exemplary model for administrators to follow to foster a deeper culture of constructive disagreement and mutual understanding. In 2012, predating the current controversy on campus and, thus, with great foresight, The University of Chicago created its “Statement on principles of free expression” (also known as “The Chicago Principles”). It provides a framework for thinking about the importance of dissent and the role of the university as a platform for debate. These principles, which include a ban on no-platforming and a statement on the value of allowing competing voices to be heard on campus, have now been adopted by more than 35 schools across the country. The connection between open inquiry and academic excellence ought to be taken seriously. In 2011, Chicago was ranked tenth in US News and World Report’s list of the top national universities. In the most recent raking it has moved up to third, ahead of Yale. In our opinion, it is the best university in the country. President Robert Zimmer has affirmed UChicago’s commitment to open inquiry at every opportunity. “The University of Chicago,” he forthrightly notes in the official “Statement from the President,” “is distinctive in many respects, but perhaps in none more so than our singular commitment to rigorous inquiry that demands multiple and often competing perspectives. We have an obligation to see that the greatest variety of perspectives is brought to bear on the issues before us as scholars and citizens.” For his dedication to viewpoint diversity, President Zimmer received the 2017 Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. During the awards ceremony, President Zimmer gave a speech which read, in part, “Central to this [Liberal Arts] education are free expression, open discourse, rigorous argument, diverse perspectives being brought forth by individuals with different backgrounds and experiences, freedom to express views that may be unpopular or contrary to any consensus, and the multiple intellectual challenges these activities generate. It is an education designed to teach students to think critically in multiple ways, and designed to impart a set of lifelong habits of mind and intellectual skills.” The university’s dedication to viewpoint diversity is evident amongst the student body as well as the administration and faculty. In April 2017, Chicago undergraduates and graduates hosted representatives from 14 schools from across the country to discuss challenges to free speech on their campuses. Sessions featured experts in law and politics, and by the end of the event, they had developed their own distinct statement of principles supporting free expression for use by other student governments. Further, the university also held a conference in 2017 on campus freedom of expression, which attracted an impressive 66 provosts and presidents. Chicago’s pioneering commitment to the free exchange of ideas has earned the university a distinct reputation for its open culture. Speakers, students, and groups are confident that their events will not be disrupted, that their remarks will be heard, and that vigorous debate will be encouraged. This commitment has significantly bolstered its endowment as well. In November, Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin announced a $125 million gift to the university, noting that it was made in part “because the university has been outspoken in its resistance to safe spaces and trigger warnings.” Heterodox Academy is proud to recognize the University of Chicago for all it has done and all it continues to do to advance and sustain viewpoint diversity and free inquiry on its campus and beyond. See the entire group of HxA Open Mind Award winners >> Opinions expressed are those of the author(s). Publication does not imply endorsement by Heterodox Academy or any of its members. We welcome your comments below. Feel free to challenge and disagree, but please try to model the sort of respectful and constructive criticism that makes viewpoint diversity most valuable. Comments that include obscenity or that sound like a tirade or screed are likely to be deleted. ... Read more...

The Value of Heterodoxy in the Academy

Featured members discuss our vital mission and the issues that arise in climates of orthodoxy on campus, including Leda Cosmides, Robert P. George, Jonathan Haidt, Glenn Loury, John McWhorter, Steven Pinker, Richard Shweder, Nadine Strossen, and John Tooby.

“The whole educational process will be enriched and enlivened by a multiplicity of voices and perspectives.“
–Nadine Strossen

We welcome applications from academics, graduate students, and others.