A conservative think tank recognized three Hillsdale professors this summer for their work inspiring conservative policy and fostering patriotism.
The Heritage Foundation announced Associate Dean of Van Andel School of Government and Assistant Professor of Government Matthew Mehan as one of its 2025 Innovation Prize winners in June.
In July, Heritage named Professor of Philosophy and Religion Nathan Schlueter and William P. Harris Chair of Military History Mark Moyar as recipients of Heritage’s Freedom and Opportunity Academic Prize.
Mehan said the prize money will go toward his upcoming book, a collection of fables for families using American wildlife, terrain, and traditions to both explain the words of the Declaration of Independence and tell the stories of various fables.
“The prize money will allow me the liberty to write beautifully about our Declaration of Independence and our country and allow me the means to commission truly beautiful art that will make for an heirloom book fitting for this grand 250th birthday of our country,” Mehan said at the awards banquet in June. “With this prize, I am very hopeful that I can help a great many American families fall in love with this great nation for generations to come.”
Mehan said the book, which releases next summer, will feature the terrain of many of America’s national parks in its various illustrations and 13 full-page oil paintings. Mehan said he spent three weeks this summer traveling with his illustrator, John Folley, to gather inspiration for the book’s setting.
“We took tons of photos for illustrations, to learn about the animals and their behaviors,” Mehan told The Collegian. “Because my fables are not just going to be fantastical, they’re sort of a big fantasy reality, sort of like real things that happen to real animals.”
Through its 2025 Innovation Prizes, Heritage awarded $250,000 to five projects that “elevate America’s founding principles and foster a deep love of country” in a special round of awards highlighting patriotic projects in light of the celebration of the country’s 250th birthday next summer.
Mehan is also the author of two children’s books, “Mr. Mehan’s Mildly Amusing Mythical Mammals” and “The Handsome Little Cygnet.”
Other Innovation Prize winners include the Cana Academy, The Emergent Order Foundation, The Herzog Foundation, and The Sophia Institute.
“Together, we can reignite the flame of patriotism that gave life to our great country — and remind Americans that we are standing at the sunrise of a new Golden Age, rooted once more in the permanent things: faith, family, work, sovereignty, and sacrifice,” Heritage President Kevin Roberts said in a press release..
Heritage’s Freedom and Opportunity Prize awarded 14 higher education professionals with $15,000 to $20,000 for research and education that promotes conservative values and policies.
“I am deeply honored to win the Freedom and Opportunity prize, which is one of the few major prizes for professors who do not conform to the political orthodoxies of American academia,” Moyar told The Collegian in an email. “Although the prize is relatively new, it has already honored many of the scholars whom I respect the most.”
Moyar said the award recognized a variety of his publications and activities, including eight published books. He said his prize money will go toward his current project researching the last years of the Vietnam War.
Schlueter, who has published works on a range of topics, including marriage and family, education and political theory, said the award is “an acknowledgment of my academic work up to this point.”
“In my writings, I have been an energetic defender of the principles of the American Founding against both libertarian and postliberal critiques,” Schlueter told The Collegian in an email.
Schlueter is the author of the online course “Introduction to Western Philosophy,” and said he is currently working on two books: “Leisure, the Basis of Liberalism” and “Making Sense of Sex.”
“The winners of Heritage’s Freedom and Opportunity Academic Prizes are on the front lines of the fight to reclaim American higher education from the grip of leftist orthodoxy,” Roberts said in a press release. “This is not just an academic battle — it’s a fight for the soul of our nation. These bold scholars are restoring the principles of economic freedom, human dignity, and constitutional self-government in institutions that shape the future of our Republic.”
