Coinciding with the Heterodox Academy Conference in June 2019, HxA honored individuals, groups, and institutions doing exemplary work with the Open Inquiry Awards. HxA is committed to identifying and facilitating ways to overcome the challenges facing higher education today and we believe one of the best ways to do that is by recognizing those who have been doing an outstanding job. The award recipients embody HxA’s mission -- promoting open inquiry, viewpoint diversity and constructive disagreement -- and are models that others can learn from, be inspired by, and emulate. 

Recipients were nominated by members of HxA and independently reviewed by members of HxA’s Open Inquiry Awards Committee, who then developed a short list of up to three candidates for each category. The short lists were presented to HxA’s executive team, Advisory Committee and Board of Directors — all of whom then voted to select the winner for each award.

The award categories and winners are as follows: 

Institutional Excellence: Claremont McKenna College

Leadership: Jonathan Zimmerman, University of Pennsylvania

Courage: Sam Abrams, Sarah Lawrence College

Exceptional Scholarship: Keith Whittington, Princeton University

Outstanding Student: Coleman Hughes, Columbia University

Outstanding Student Group: Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC) Civil Discourse Club