Over the past few months, I’ve been heartened to see the national conversation catching up to a theme that has animated Heterodox Academy since our founding: the pursuit of truth and knowledge depends on viewpoint diversity.

Last week, I had the privilege of co-authoring an op-ed in Inside Higher Ed with HxA co-founder Jon Haidt. We wrote it because this principle, so basic to the academic enterprise, has recently become contested, politicized, or simply forgotten. Jon and I explain that when universities lose their capacity to keep the frontier of scholarly inquiry alive, which is so dependent on viewpoint diversity, universities cease to be the engines of knowledge they were designed to be.

Our piece built on themes I shared this summer in The Boston Globe where I argued that viewpoint diversity should not be a partisan concept or a simple box checking exercise of political affiliation — it’s instead a scholarly virtue. It is the means by which we refine ideas, challenge assumptions, and expand our collective understanding.

HxA members, of course, already know this. But this message is vital to bring into the mainstream discussion within the academy. We must invite a broader reckoning within academia to insist on building cultures of open inquiry through free expression, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement; of building an academy that lives up to its ideals.

At HxA, we’re continuing to ensure that our commitments to building cultures of open inquiry on campuses everywhere remain clear and strong. I’m pleased to share that we have released a revised version of The HxA Way. You told us where phrasing could be clearer, where examples might better reflect the spirit of engagement we champion, and where our core ideas resonated most powerfully. We listened — and we refined. We ask that you print it out, post it outside your office door, and follow it in your academic engagements. 

Over the next several weeks, you’ll also notice resources rolling out as part of our Open Inquiry U agenda. Our goal is to equip you to build cultures of open inquiry in your classrooms and on your campus. In addition to the revised HxA Way, we’ll be publishing reading guides, how-to guides, and new research — just to name a few things to look forward to! Our new webpage will serve as your homebase to find all of these resources.

We’re building out our research and resource development arm to ramp up our delivery of tools, data, and support for advancing our mission on campuses. Heading this effort will be Dylan Selterman, Ph.D., Director of R&D, who is coming to HxA from John Hopkins where he has been a psychology professor in addition to co-chairing our Campus Community. We have also brought on Anar Amin as a fractional Chief of Staff to further deliver what is needed to our members and communities.

These resources are to help propel the work you’re doing on campus to champion higher education’s foundational purpose. The inflection point the academy finds itself in right now — spurred by the public’s opinion and illiberal interference from the government — makes our internal-led reform movement more important than it’s ever been in the last decade.

And what I’m seeing on campuses is invigorating.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit three campuses recently — UNC Chapel Hill, Furman University, and UC Berkeley — each at different points in their institutional journeys to build cultures of open inquiry, but all animated by a shared desire: to reconnect higher education with its foundational ideals.

The energy, creativity, and courage of our members at each of these gatherings affirm that HxA’s mission is alive, growing, and more important than ever. HxA is a trusted leader in a vital movement to strengthen the cultural and scholarly conditions that allow knowledge to flourish — free from fear, ideology, or partisanship.

To further advance our partnerships with universities, we’re thrilled that Justin McBrayer, Ph.D will be joining our team as Director of University Partnerships. Justin is a scholar with deep experience both communicating ideas and making behind-the-scenes change. His department will extend HxA’s mission on campus, working with presidents and campus leaders who are seeing the importance of our mission for the flourishing of their institution. McKay Stangler, Ph.D. will fuel our efforts as our new Director of Advancement to make all the work we all do together possible.

The fact that HxA’s issues are now central to mainstream discourse is not incidental — it’s evidence that HxA’s work is now shaping the national conversation about the future of higher education.

Let’s continue to press forward, together, with clarity, courage, and generosity of spirit.

Thank you for all you do to bring out the best in our universities.

John Tomasi