APRIL 2, 2024, NEW YORK, NY — Heterodox Academy (HxA), a non-partisan, non-profit membership organization committed to improving institutions of higher education by advocating principles of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement announces a pledge of $5 million from the Mike and Sofia Segal Foundation. The gift will include the renaming of HxA’s new research center, The Mike and Sofia Segal Center for Academic Pluralism.

The Foundation’s support will enable HxA to expand its membership, research and policy projects, and deepen its impact on colleges and universities. The gift represents the Segal Foundation’s continuing commitment to intellectual freedom as a safeguard for individual rights, a driver of cultural and scientific progress, and an essential principle of democracy and human dignity.

"We are pleased to support HxA in their work. The principles of intellectual freedom and civil discourse safeguard individual rights, foster cultural and scientific progress, and promote the principles of democracy and human dignity,” said Mike Segal, Co-Founder of the Mike and Sofia Segal Foundation. “We, along with HxA, are committed to ensuring these principles are never taken for granted in America.”

Mike and Sofia Segal were both born and raised under the oppression of the former Soviet Union before emigrating to America in 1978. With a special focus on preserving intellectual freedom on college campuses, the Mike & Sofia Segal Foundation directly aligns with HxA’s vision to create campuses that welcome diverse people, diverse viewpoints and the ability to engage that diversity freely.

“This is a profoundly impactful gift at a pivotal moment for Heterodox Academy,” said John Tomasi, President of HxA. “As colleges and universities across the country recognize the threats of censorship, groupthink, and polarization, HxA members from all across the academy are leading our universities to a higher path. The Segal Foundation’s gift will unlock a new level of activity and impact for HxA, and it couldn’t come at a better time.”

About Heterodox Academy

Heterodox Academy (HxA) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization of thousands of faculty, staff, and students committed to advancing the principles of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement to improve higher education and academic research. The HxA membership is made up of more than 6,700 faculty, staff, and students who come from more than 1,800 institutions, from large research universities to community colleges.

About the Mike & Sofia Segal Foundation

The Mike and Sofia Segal Foundation is committed to making impactful gifts in the areas of Freedom of Intellectual Thought, Medical Research, Civil Society, Jewish Heritage and Israel, Climate Change and Elder Care.

Press Contact

Nicole Barbaro, Director of Communications, Heterodox Academy

barbaro@heterodoxacademy.org