Shifting the culture of college campuses toward open inquiry takes determination and patience. Indeed, Jon Haidt and I sometimes joke that, for most of our careers, the campus status quo — complacency about the ideological conformity of faculty, acquiescence to cancel culture, the embrace of DEI — seemed locked in place, like a windswept frozen sea. In that context, we reform-minded members and leaders of HxA sometimes felt like we were out on the edges of that ice, all chipping away together, just hoping to jar loose whatever sized chunk of campus culture that we could break free and go to work on.

The situation has changed. Events of the past year, and especially events following the return of the Trump administration to the White House in January, have shattered that frozen state of affairs. Rather than a locked-in campus status quo, today ice floes of all sizes (some jagged) are in motion all around us. We campus reformers now find ourselves operating in a world of sudden changes, dramatic new opportunities…and plenty of dangers too.

This makes me especially excited about HxA’s Conference in Brooklyn next month, which is on the theme of Truth, Power and Responsibility. The conference, to be held June 23-25, will focus on topics such as the fragility of academic freedom, the perils of political overreach, the weight of academic responsibility, and the opportunities that disruption presents for HxA-minded reforms. It would be hard to imagine a more timely moment to gather HxA members for sustained discussion of these topics.

The conference will officially open with my “State of the Academy” keynote address on Monday evening. This year’s conference will also be a celebration of HxA’s 10th anniversary. So, I’ll be reflecting on HxA’s remarkable growth over its first decade and previewing initiatives that we’ll be undertaking as HxA enters its next decade. A highlight of the first evening will be the announcement of this year’s Open Inquiry Awards across the categories of teaching, scholarship, community excellence, leadership, and courage. As part of our anniversary celebration, Jon Haidt will be serving as our Master of Ceremonies for this year’s “Heterodox Academy Awards” ceremony and gala-ish reception that will take place on opening night.

At recent HxA conferences, the Presidents’ Panel has always been a highlight. That session holds special poignancy this year, with presidents under pressure from so many different directions. For this year’s panel, we’ve assembled a slate of speakers who have taken very different approaches to this navigational challenge. With Nadine Strossen moderating, our panel will feature Dartmouth’s Sian Beilock, Wesleyan’s Michael Roth, University of Denver’s Jeremy Haefner, and Colgate’s Brian Casey. It will be fascinating to hear these campus leaders describe the paths they are taking and tell us what they see ahead.

And speaking of diverse voices, Tuesday’s second plenary also looks to be a blockbuster. University of Wyoming’s Martha McCaughy will be moderating a signature Heterodox Conversation on “Intervention or Interference: The Role of Legislation in Reforming the Academy,” featuring Mark Bauerlein from New College of Florida and Steven Brint from UC Riverside. Heterodox Conversations employ a special event format that HxA has devised and many of our Campus Community leaders have brought to their own campuses. Less rigid than a debate, these conversations bring together speakers with diverse viewpoints in thoughtful conversation with each other, with the aim not so much of winning but of elevating our understanding of the topic at hand. On the topic of government policies on higher ed, I expect the viewpoint diversity on the stage will be matched by the diversity of view of our members in the room, as this is arguably the most fraught issue of our day.

There are also a number of concurrent sessions that I am looking forward to attending. On Wednesday morning, there will be two panels exploring aspects of free expression on campus, including a panel discussion on “Creating a Student-led Culture of Free Speech at Universities Nationwide” and “Challenging the Challengers of Free Speech.” So, one panel exploring practical strategies to improve a key feature of campus culture, and the other offering a deep analysis of the best critiques of that concept? What a fabulously HxA-y combination.

There are lots of other attractive options on the conference schedule as well. A plenary on “Duties and Responsibilities of Scholars” moderated by Colleen Eren, will feature Jerry Coyne, Jennifer Frey, Louis Menand, and John McWhorter. And we’ll have a veritable chocolate box of other concurrent sessions, including ones on strategies for hiring and training faculty for viewpoint diversity, panels on disciplinary reform in sociology and anthropology (both famously hard cases), panels on politics and science, and even highly interactive workshops like one exploring how techniques from improvisational theatre might help us build curious classrooms.

HxA 2025 is looking like a blockbuster event. I hope to see you in Brooklyn next month!