We are pleased to recognize the second round of HxA’s Flexible Funding Opportunity (FFO) grant recipients. This group represents an even broader range of disciplines and locations, and is a wonderful reminder of one of the most important aspects of HxA membership: community.

This second round of grant-funded projects includes several Canadian members who are collaborating across two projects to address and explore increasing concerns in Canadian universities, a group of K-12 members working together from across the United States to create a high school curriculum, and a professor who is bringing together twelve scholars from diverse backgrounds to consider the ethics of free speech.

The Heterodox Communities (HxCommunities) and the FFO grants are two HxA member benefits that facilitate connection and collaboration between members as they seek to promote open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement. These benefits offer opportunities to find support and community, share resources, and address challenges around these principles.

FFO funding is still available to support additional member initiatives. Learn more about the application process and requirements, and read more about the second round recipients below!

“The Role of Academics in Canada”

Christopher Dummit, Professor, Canadian Studies, Trent University, and Zachary Patterson, Associate Professor, Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal | HxCanada Community

Alongside the student survey the “Heterodoxy in Canada” project team will conduct, Dummit and Patterson are conducting an opinion poll of Canadian university professors and a sample of the Canadian population to determine their views on the role of professors today, their support for heterodox values, and whether they have experienced threats to academic freedom.

“Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines: A High School Course”

William Reusch, Social Studies Teacher, Shalhevet High School, Los Angeles | HxK-12 Community

With their FFO grant funding, Reusch and team will create a course on critical thinking for high school students. The project includes creating semester-long curriculum, split into units, for high school teachers and administrators to adopt and implement in their school or district. The project will include an evaluation of the teachers, and their students, who successfully adopt the curriculum. Reusch has teamed up with fellow HxA members Zach Cresswell, a math instructor at Mount Pleasant High School (Mt. Pleasant, Michigan), and Robert Rue, an english teacher and writer at The Calhoun School (New York City), to develop this course.

“Symposium on The Ethics of Freedom of Speech”

John Hasnas, Professor of Ethics, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University | HxPhilosophy Community

Hasnas was awarded FFO funding to support the Symposium on the Ethics of Freedom of Speech. Twelve scholars representing diverse disciplines and ideological viewpoints have been invited to consider this topic and write original essays, which will be assembled into groups based on their content for presentation at the symposium on November 19, 2021 and subsequent publication in a Georgetown University public policy journal.