Open Inquiry U
Heterodox Academy's Four-Point Agenda for Reforming Colleges and Universities
Colleges and universities’ highest purpose is the communal pursuit of knowledge through rigorous inquiry, dialogue, and discovery. As faculty push the boundaries of existing understandings, and students wrestle with challenging questions and ideas, a college or university can cultivate a uniquely creative and disciplined environment that enriches the entire society around it.
But today, many colleges and universities have become uncertain about their core purpose—and it shows. As the pursuit of knowledge becomes one possible goal among many, the core practices and habits of truth-seeking have become weak, optional, or even taboo on many campuses. Too often, conformity is rewarded over curiosity, and dissent is met with suspicion rather than engagement.
We know that meaningful change must come from within. That’s why, at HxA, we’re equipping faculty, staff, and campus leaders to build a stronger academic culture—one that honors the ideals of scholarly integrity, pluralism, and free thought.
The recommendations below are practical and principled, and can be championed from any position within the institution. Whether you’re changing a policy, launching a program, challenging a norm, or redesigning a course, there is a role for you in reforming higher education—one conversation, one decision, one campus at a time.
The Open Inquiry U Agenda
Developed by Heterodox Academy as a resource to foster a culture of open inquiry on college campuses.
Building Cultures of Open Inquiry
In an era of increasing polarization, universities must choose their future. At HxA, we believe that our universities must remain spaces where students and professors can discuss controversial topics without fear, inquire freely wherever the evidence may take them, and engage constructively across varied viewpoints. Discover how we’re leading the charge to build cultures of open inquiry on every campus
HxA’s four-point agenda for university reform draws on a decade of thought leadership and grassroots action across campuses. Explore each of the pillars to find research, tools, and case studies to inspire action on your campus.
Commit to Open Inquiry
The ability to ask questions, share ideas, and challenge popular views and assumptions is essential to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. A powerful idea may begin as a notion that seems mistaken, strange, offensive, or even dangerous. Universities should be places where such ideas can be discussed, debated, and rigorously tested, not stigmatized and stifled.
Unleash the Free Exchange of Ideas
The power of this freedom lies in its ability to create an intellectual marketplace where all claims, regardless of their popularity or lack thereof, are investigated and pursued. It guarantees that scholars and students are free to articulate any idea, finding, or conclusion that they believe to be true, without fear of censure, social sanction, or professional retaliation, thus demanding that an idea’s success relies on its merit.
Insist on Viewpoint Diversity
When scholars and students engage with people who think differently — across moral, cultural, and theoretical lines — they encounter new evidence, question assumptions, and sharpen their own reasoning. The most vibrant universities are not echo chambers dominated by groupthink, but arenas where ideas are tested, refined, and replaced.
Invest in Constructive Disagreement
Campuses must invest in constructive disagreement by encouraging curiosity, humility, evidence-based reasoning, and charitable engagement across all aspects of campus life. By modeling curiosity and respect, we can collaborate to overcome our biases and transform our differences into a powerful engine for discovering new knowledge.
Become a Member
HxA Membership unlocks opportunities to help you become a champion of open inquiry on your campus. Apply today and join the thousands of faculty, staff, and students bringing open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement to higher education.
In line with our agenda pillars, HxA asks universities to implement reforms that ensure campuses thrive as vibrant and intellectually diverse scholarly communities.
Institutional Neutrality
In recent years, when a controversy over a hot-button social or political issue arises, many college and university leaders have made statements of support, opposition, solidarity, or concern. But such statements may prevent a college or university from fulfilling its special purpose: as a place where individuals can argue for or against a wide range of views, and where just one voice of unpopular dissent can make everyone smarter and wiser.
Required DEI Statements
Diversity statements as a hiring requirement pressure applicants to align with specific ideological views, regardless of their personal beliefs, effectively functioning as compelled political speech. By pressuring candidates to conform to a singular narrative, DEI statements erode academic integrity — the foundation of honest scholarship.
Open
Inquiry
Viewpoint
Diversity
Constructive
Disagreement
STEM
Protecting Open Inquiry in Canada
Academic Freedom
Required DEI Statements
The Free Exchange
of Ideas
The more members we have, the stronger our voice becomes. A larger network means more campuses exposed to our resources, more scholars empowered to speak freely, and more ideas about how to advance open inquiry. Put simply: when our membership grows, our impact grows.