At colleges across America, the free exchange of ideas is in jeopardy. How did we arrive at this depressing level of polarization? Can we regain a shared civic vocabulary, mutual respect, and curiosity, which are essential to social health and a vibrant democracy?

2017 Honoree Dr. Jonathan Haidt is an American social psychologist and Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Haidt is the author of two books: The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom (2006) and The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion (2012), which became a New York Times bestseller. He was named one of the “top global thinkers” by Foreign Policy magazine, and one of the “top world thinkers” by Prospect magazine. His four TED talks have been viewed more than five million times.

Haidt’s current research applies moral psychology to business ethics. In 2013, he co-founded Ethical Systems, a non-profit collaboration dedicated to making academic research on ethics widely available to businesses. His next book, on capitalism, will be published in 2019. In addition to Ethical Systems, Haidt is a co-founder of Heterodox Academy as well as YourMorals.org and CivilPolitics.org. His work on campus politics and civility is perhaps best represented by his article in the Atlantic entitled “The Coddling of the American Mind.” Dr. Haidt earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

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