HxA Annual Report FY19 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 7
THE DIRECTOR’S SQUARE
Dear Friends,
Heterodox Academy’s origin story could be summarized as “three guys and a blog.” Three scholars from
three different disciplines authored academic articles in 2015 reflecting on the costs of orthodoxy in their
disciplines. Chris Martin, Nick Rosenkranz, and Jonathan Haidt then joined forces to create a blog, which
quickly attracted more writers and calls for a membership structure.
Soon, collaborations took root, creating new tools and research. Before long, a small staff was needed to
help steward projects and seize opportunities. Efforts and relationships grew organically. At that point, Jon
and others realized that a more formal organization would be needed in order to harness the potential of the
open inquiry movement. Jon recruited me away from my tenured, Full Professorship at Harvey Mudd College
to become HxA’s first Executive Director.
For Heterodox Academy, the 2019 fiscal year (September 1, 2018 - August 31, 2019) was all
about putting the “organs” in the organization – establishing critical strategic and
operational foundations upon which to build programmatic and collaborative success. For
example, this year we obtained our IRS designation, established our Board of Directors,
identified metrics by which we track progress, built a membership database, and brought
needed focus to our work through strategic planning.
What was once an energized vision has transformed into a passionately non-partisan and non-profit
organization, strategically built to achieve an urgent need: improving the quality of research and education
in universities by increasing open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement.
Team HxA is delighted to share with you key accomplishments of this year in our first-ever Annual Report. The
take-home message is clear: HxA effectively and efficiently leverages relationships with others and the support
of philanthropic partners to create positive change on college campuses and in academic disciplines.
With warmest regards,
Debra Mashek
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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