Heterodox Academy

Heterodox Academy is an American nonprofit advocacy group formed to promote viewpoint diversity, open inquiry, and intellectual humility in Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Stanford University and other institutions. It was co-founded in 2015 by scholars associated with New York University, University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, University of Chicago and Columbia University, and has engaged with faculty, administrators, and students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, Cornell University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, Australian National University, and University of Toronto.

History

Heterodox Academy arose amid debates involving figures from Princeton University such as Jonathan Haidt and social scientists tied to Yale University and Harvard Kennedy School, responding to campus disputes like those at University of Missouri, Claremont McKenna College, University of California, Berkeley and controversies linked to speakers at Middlebury College and DePaul University. Early organizing connected with scholars who had worked with centers at Brookings Institution, Hoover Institution, Manhattan Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Cato Institute, Annenberg Public Policy Center, and journals such as The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Founders and early advisers included academics who published with presses like Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Princeton University Press and who contributed to debates involving public intellectuals seen on NPR, PBS, Fox News and CNN. The group’s development paralleled initiatives at think tanks such as Brennan Center for Justice and networks like Scholars at Risk and intersected with academic debates reflected in meetings at American Association of University Professors, American Council on Education, Association of American Universities and conferences hosted by National Association of Scholars.

Mission and Activities

Heterodox Academy’s stated mission emphasizes viewpoint diversity, intellectual humility, open inquiry and research integrity. It offers resources to faculty and administrators through initiatives similar to training programs at Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and policy workshops akin to events at United Nations University. Activities include producing guides for hiring and curriculum drawn from scholarship connected to researchers at Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, Columbia Law School and collaboration with labs at Massachusetts General Hospital, Salk Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and humanities centers such as Folger Shakespeare Library and Smithsonian Institution. The organization sponsors speaker series, conferences, summer programs and fellowship awards similar in structure to grants awarded by MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and scholarship exchanges modeled after programs at Fulbright Program and Rhodes Trust.

Membership and Organization

Membership is composed of faculty, researchers, administrators and graduate students affiliated with institutions including Brown University, Duke University School of Law, Vanderbilt University, Rice University, Emory University, Wake Forest University, University of Virginia, Colorado State University, Arizona State University, Rutgers University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Ohio State University and international affiliates at University of Edinburgh, King’s College London, University of Melbourne and University of Sydney. Leadership and advisory roles have included scholars with ties to departments at University of Notre Dame, Boston University, Pennsylvania State University, Texas A&M University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Michigan State University, Purdue University, University of Minnesota and research centers such as National Bureau of Economic Research, RAND Corporation, Institute for Advanced Study and Kellogg School of Management. Organizational structure features working groups and committees analogous to boards at Trustees of Columbia University and governance norms informed by practices at American Philosophical Society and Royal Society.

Criticism and Controversies

Critics have challenged the organization’s stance from perspectives represented by faculty and commentators at University of California, Los Angeles, University of Texas at Austin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Arizona, San Francisco State University and Portland State University, and in op-eds in outlets like The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and Slate. Some accuse it of alignment with policy agendas associated with Heritage Foundation, Federalist Society, National Review, Quillette, The Spectator and Spiked Online, while defenders point to endorsements from academics linked to American Enterprise Institute and Cato Institute. Controversies include debates over speaker invitations that echo disputes seen at Vassar College, Claremont Graduate University, Oberlin College and legal questions discussed in contexts like cases at Supreme Court of the United States and administrative hearings at Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Internal disputes over funding, governance and strategy have been compared to earlier nonprofit debates involving Tides Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Knight Foundation and donor networks connected to Koch Industries and Carnegie Corporation.

Influence and Reception

Assessments of Heterodox Academy’s influence vary across academia, policy and media. Supporters cite impact on hiring processes and campus policies at institutions such as Georgetown University Law Center, New York University School of Law, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Yale School of Management and Harvard Business School. Critics argue its footprint is limited compared with broader trends documented by researchers at National Science Foundation, American Council on Education, Pew Research Center, Gallup, RAND Corporation and reports published by OECD. The organization figures in broader conversations with public intellectuals affiliated with Princeton University Press, commentators from The Economist, columnists at Financial Times, and academics who contribute to symposia at Royal Society of Arts and panels run by World Economic Forum and Aspen Institute. Its initiatives have prompted experimental studies by scholars at MIT Media Lab, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and replication efforts overseen by teams at Stanford University School of Medicine and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Category:Organizations