Colgate University welcomed political philosopher and inaugural president of Heterodox Academy John Tomasi to campus on March 27 to discuss the importance of ideological diversity at colleges and universities. The talk, moderated by President Brian W. Casey, was the fourth installment of the spring Presidential Speaker Series, which has fostered discussion around the public responsibilities of higher education.
Heterodox Academy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization composed of college faculty, staff, and students who are dedicated to restoring and protecting the integrity of universities as spaces for intellectual inclusiveness and exploration. Tomasi said he places the quest for truth at the forefront of this mission.
“We restore that truth-seeking mission, not by going back to some supposed good old days, but [understanding that] there is a future glimpsed but not yet realized, which is deeply worth fighting for — a university that is truly inclusive, where people seek knowledge together,” Tomasi said.
Casey and Tomasi first crossed paths more than 20 years ago, while both were working at Brown University — Casey as assistant provost and Tomasi as a professor of natural theology and political science. Tomasi would later become chair of the natural theology department.
In 2022, Tomasi left Brown to lead Heterodox. He was inspired by two former students who represented different sides of the political spectrum yet agreed on the necessity of hearing differing perspectives for intellectual growth.
Tomasi recounted the pivotal message of one of those students — words that have stayed with him: “He said, ‘We didn’t come to campus merely to become more skillful defenders of some inherited ideology, left or right. We came to college to think in new ways for ourselves.’’’
Tomasi acknowledges that, while universities have made significant progress in becoming more inclusive of diverse identities and backgrounds, they have become more ideologically exclusive, particularly where conservative viewpoints are concerned.
“Universities have endangered themselves by letting themselves become silos — or be perceived as silos — not connected to the wider society,” Tomasi said. “There are forces in society now that are very concerned with looking at these publicly funded institutions and saying, ‘Shouldn’t they be accountable to all of us?’”
According to Tomasi, that’s a precarious position, and some universities are starting to address it. But the work must be organic and come from within — thus the partnerships formed with individuals on campuses across the country.
“We love our universities the way Socrates loved Athens, we love them enough to criticize them,” he said.