2022 Open Inquiry
Award Winners

HxA presents the Open Inquiry Awards to honor exemplary individuals, groups, and institutions who are leading the way in improving classrooms, campuses, and scholarship by championing our values.

The HxA mission is advanced, in part, by the work of exceptional people committed across our institutions of higher education that advance open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in the classroom and across campus. The 2022 Open Inquiry awards were presented at the discretion of inaugural President, John Tomasi, in the categories of Leadership, Courage, and Exceptional Student.

In reflecting on the work and accomplishments of this year’s award winners John Tomasi stated, “It is so important to have luminaries to look up to and to emulate. Roslyn, Emma, and Dorian are three members of the academy who do just that: inspire us to recommit to improving the institutions we love.”.

2022 Winners

Roslyn Clark Artis, Ph.D.

Leadership Award

The Leadership Award is presented to an individual who has most effectively championed the principles of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in the academy and beyond. Roslyn Clark Artis, Ph.D., is the 14th and first woman president of Benedict College. Previously, Artis served as the 13th and first woman president of Florida Memorial University. An active HxA member, Artis is a contributor to HxA’s Best Practices Guide and has been an expert panelist for roundtable discussions on the current state of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in higher education. Artis has been recognized nationally for her commitment to the proliferation and transformation of colleges and universities that serve underrepresented people of color. She was named Female HBCU President of the Year by HBCU Digest, a Top 35 Leading Women in Higher Education by Diverse Issues in Higher Education, and, in 2020, President of the Year by Higher Ed Dive for her leadership in navigating the challenges of the pandemic. Artis is a model for promoting and enacting Heterodox Academy’s core values of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement on campus. Guided by a strong moral compass, she has been fearlessly committed to standing up for freedom of expression, challenging entrenched conventions and orthodoxies, and pushing students to think beyond their current horizons. She is an inspirational leader and a guide for those who seek to improve the quality of research and teaching in higher education.

Dorian Abbot, Ph.D.

Courage Award

The Courage Award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated consistent courage in pursuing truth and bravery in championing the principles of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in the academy despite social and professional costs.

Dorian Abbot, Ph.D., is an associate professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago and the co-moderator of Heterodox Academy’s HxSTEM Community. Abbot uses mathematical and computational models to understand and explain fundamental problems in earth and planetary sciences. His work centers on problems related to climate, paleoclimate, planetary habitability, and exoplanets.

In addition to his work as a geophysicist, Abbot is passionately committed to an ideal of fairness and building the next generation of scholars. He advocates for a system of Merit, Fairness, and Equality (MFE) “whereby university applicants are treated as individuals and evaluated through a rigorous and unbiased process based on their merit and qualifications alone.”

Although Abbot’s views on diversity initiatives came under intense scrutiny and led to the cancellation of his October 2021 talk at MIT’s John Carlson Lecture, he has demonstrated consistent courage and bravery in championing his beliefs despite the costs he has endured. He has become a household name in higher education for being a professor who chose courage over fear, the pursuit of truth over group conformity, and free inquiry over censorship of any kind.

Emma Camp

Exceptional Student Award

The Exceptional Student Award is presented to an undergraduate or graduate student who has made vital and durable contributions to open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in higher education.

Emma Camp graduated from the University of Virginia in 2022 with a degree in philosophy and English. While at the University of Virginia, she was a Jefferson Scholar, a regular freelance writer for Reason Magazine, and a Heterodox Academy Student Affiliate.

With a passion for debate and critical inquiry, Emma has been outspoken in her support for freedom of speech on college campuses. In her pursuit to uphold and protect free inquiry, she interned for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and wrote extensively about campus speech for Reason Magazine, Persuasion, the Cavalier Daily, FIRE Newsdesk, and most recently, the New York Times.

Emma’s pointed and honest New York Times op-ed, “I Came to College Eager for Debate. I Found Self-Censorship Instead,” reverberated around the nation, reinvigorating national debates about the speech climate on college campuses. As a student suddenly thrust into the spotlight, Emma has remained as principled and constructive as ever. In the face of derogation and unconstructive pushback, she has demonstrated exceptional bravery in championing the principles of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement.

“

Heterodox Academy is the one place where I can play the token social justice feminist sex radical and still be in great company.

Alice DregerHistorian and Author

“

In a very short period Heterodox Academy has become the nation's leading champion of intellectual honesty, open debate and viewpoint diversity - for a simple reason: its members practice intellectual virtues that they preach.

David BrooksOp-Ed columnistNew York Times

Become a Member

Join our community of faculty, staff, and students in our efforts to improve the quality of research and education in universities through viewpoint diversity, open inquiry, and constructive disagreement.

Complimentary membership includes access to the new HxA Portal — a private online forum for HxA members and HxCommunities — invitations to members-only events, funding opportunities, professional development opportunities, members-only discounts to HxA Summits, and more.

Explore Membership

2022 Open InquiryAward Winners

Become a Member

2022 Open Inquiry
Award Winners