WASHINGTON—The Heritage Foundation announced the launch of the Freedom and Opportunity Academic Prizes Monday. This is the third year The Heritage Foundation has promoted this initiative, which aims to support those in higher education whose research aligns with the foundation’s values.  

The prize, which is currently accepting applicants through March 3, 2025, will award prizes between $15,000 and $20,000 to full-time and adjunct faculty members at U.S. colleges, universities, or seminaries who are actively engaged in research and teaching that advances Heritage’s priority policy issues, as well as broader issues related to freedom and opportunity. Additionally, as the nation’s Semiquincentennial approaches, The Heritage Foundation is accepting applications in 2025 from scholars whose work relates to the American Founding and celebrates and promotes America’s 250th anniversary. Prize winners will also be invited to participate in a Summer Colloquium and Workshop. 

Those interested in the prize can apply here before 11:59 p.m. on March 3, 2025.  

Dr. Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation, commented on the prize:  

"American academia is in crisis. Faculty who seek to champion timeless principles—like economic freedom, human dignity, and constitutional self-government—are being silenced by an academic elite more interested in pushing ideology than pursuing Truth. This is not only a betrayal of higher education’s mission, but a threat to the very foundation of a free society. 

 

"At Heritage, we refuse to stand by while the academy abandons its responsibility. The Freedom and Opportunity Academic Prizes are our investment in courageous scholars who are committed to advancing research that supports liberty, human flourishing, and the values that make America exceptional. This is about more than just academic inquiry—it’s about ensuring the future of freedom and opportunity in this country."