How do you move the needle on academic freedom, open inquiry, and viewpoint diversity when you're operating inside a large public university system? This workshop brings together HxA Campus Community leaders from the University of North Carolina and the University of California systems to share what's working, what's hard, and what they've learned along the way.

Attendees will hear directly from Mark McNeilly of UNC Chapel Hill and Smriti Mehta of UC Berkeley, organizers behind two distinct but complementary models of change:

Heterodox Heels | UNC–Chapel Hill - Since 2024, the UNC–Chapel Hill HxA community has hosted intimate dinner conversations with guest speakers that bring the Campus Community into direct dialogue with key institutional stakeholders, system-level decision-makers, and nationally recognized scholars. These gatherings are proof that small, intentional conversations can reach the highest levels of institutional decision-making.

The UC Initiative for Free Inquiry (UCIFI) | University of California System - What began with UC Berkeley's May Day Conference on Free Inquiry in May 2025, a system-wide convening of UC faculty and national experts to examine the challenges to open inquiry across campuses, has since grown into a coordinated, multi-campus effort. Chapters from UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Riverside came together during that conference to formally establish the UC Initiative for Free Inquiry, laying the groundwork for collective, system-level advocacy for academic freedom across the public university system.

In this workshop, you'll learn:

• How to identify and cultivate relationships with the institutional stakeholders who can actually move policy
• How to design low-barrier, high-trust spaces and events that generate real influence
• How to coordinate across campuses within a large university system for greater collective impact
• Practical lessons from organizers who have done it — including the setbacks along the way

Space is limited — Register today to join the discussion! 

Not an HxA member? Join here.