Become an
HxA Member
Become a member of Heterodox Academy and join the thousands of faculty, staff, and students bringing open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement to higher education.
Becoming an HxA member unlocks opportunities to help you become a champion of open inquiry on your campus. Membership is free, and members gain access to resources, events, networks, and funding opportunities designed to help them foster viewpoint diversity and constructive dialogue in their academic community.
To become a member, you must be employed (full-time or part-time) at an institution of higher education, enrolled in graduate studies, or be employed by an organization* that directly serves institutions of higher education. We do not screen members based on research field, ideology, or political or social affiliations.
When you become a member, opportunities to become more engaged open up.
Attend Member-Only Workshops
Workshops are hosted by members, for members, and are focused on key areas of professional development within the heterodox academic community.
HxA members on a single campus come together to promote the values of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement to improve research and higher education. Campus Communities are led by 2-4 HxA member co-chairs with financial and consulting support from HxA. In addition, Communities are able to receive peer support from across the Network. Applications for the HxA Campus Community Network open each April, with accepted Communities matriculating at the start of the academic year.
HxCommunities are groups of educators, staff, administrators, and students interested in advancing our core principles within their shared discipline, across their region, or within their academic area. Each HxCommunity has a private discussion forum to constructively discuss research and ideas, provide peer support to one another, share resources, and plan activities and initiatives relevant to the HxA mission.
Throughout the year, HxA will host open calls for members to share their knowledge and expertise on a variety of topics tied to our Open Inquiry U Reform Agenda. By contributing your insights, you help transform individual experience into actionable resources that equip thousands of other members with the tools to make a difference — in classrooms, research labs, and campus spaces everywhere.
Launched in 2018, the Open Inquiry Awards recognize those among our esteemed membership who do exemplary work across leadership, teaching, scholarship and more. Each recipient embodies the HxA way and are role models that others can learn from, be inspired by, and emulate. Call for nominees across the five award categories open each spring. The winners are announced and celebrated at our annual conference in June.
We host regular virtual events that provide attendees the opportunity to engage directly with speakers, as well as regional conferences where members can build momentum together. Our Campus Communities offer ongoing programs and events, including HxA’s signature Heterodox Conversations model. And our HxCommunities hold frequent virtual discussions and conferences. Explore our events and join in on the discussion.
Our members represent the full political spectrum, more than 2,100 institutions world-wide, and nearly every academic discipline.
"Heterodox Academy was such a resource of hope, of knowledge... I would like to thank you for this wonderful initiative, this important organization… It was lifesaving."
HxA member Alexandra Lysova was forced to leave Russia after Vladimir Putin came to power due to threats and limitations on her freedom. This experience made her sensitive to the ideological conformity she witnessed arise in her department in 2020 at Simon Fraser University. Lysova received the 2023 HxA Open Inquiry Award for Leadership for her persistent efforts to protect academic freedom at SFU and beyond.
I believe that educators have an obligation to provide an environment for students to look at all sides of issues. I do not think that is taking place enough in today's academic environment. I want to be part of the solution.
I love Heterodox Academy. There are so few organizations that push back on illiberalism on the left and the right… you are my people.
"I was looking for resources, I was looking for community... I discovered HxA and participated in webinars, and that was the beginning of my journey."
HxA member Abigail Saguy, Professor of Sociology at UCLA, shares how she transformed her classroom by making dialogue across differences a core learning objective.
Looking for community and tools to help, she discovered HxA and through her membership was introduced to Sway, an AI-powered platform designed to help students practice hard conversations.
Heterodox Academy is the one place where I can play the token social justice feminist sex radical and still be in great company.
Engagement with people who are broadly diverse, in terms of experience and ideas, is essential for promoting understanding in both senses of that word: knowledge and empathy.
HxA is a nonpartisan organization with members spanning the political spectrum. We are united by a shared commitment to the principles that make great scholarship possible: open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement.
Our members embody a set of norms and values that are core to our vision of the academy.
Your donation propels our mission. Support the thousands of faculty, staff, and students advocating for policy and culture changes that allow universities to be truth-seeking, knowledge-generating institutions grounded in open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement.