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“An education that shapes the whole person is both necessary and desired in our world. The Program is vital to our ability to meet this moment and produce leaders for a better future.”

Wake Forest President Susan R. Wente
Program for Leadership and Character logo

Our Vision

To inspire, educate, and empower leaders of character at Wake Forest and at colleges and universities across the world.

Our Mission

To use innovative teaching, creative programming, and cutting-edge research to help transform the lives of students, foster an inclusive culture of leadership and character on college campuses, and catalyze a broader public conversation that places character at the center of leadership.

Get Involved

Here’s how you can become directly involved with our Program as a Wake Forest student, or as a faculty or staff member at Wake Forest and other institutions across the country:


Receive regular updates on events and happenings:

Michael Lamb giving a presentation.

Scholars Initiation Ceremony in 2023

discussion group meeting with students

Educating Character Initiative

Learn more about grants, resources, conferences, and learning opportunities provided and curated by our ECI Scholars and staff to educate character within higher education.

Educating Character Initiative

Professional Schools

See our approach and impact in law, medicine, and engineering at Wake Forest and beyond.

Professional Schools

Resources

The Program for Leadership and Character is built upon the research and scholarly work of faculty at Wake Forest and beyond. Here’s a short list of resources from faculty and staff in our Program that you may find useful as you seek to educate character in your own context.

Resources

Stories From Our Program

Earlier this year, author and New York Times columnist David Brooks spoke to a packed crowd at the @facetofacewfu Speaker Forum. Here`s what he had to say about our Program and our campus. #ProHumanitate

Brooks is a member of our Leadership and Character Council.

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Leadership and Character Scholars (from left to right) Jason Zhang (‘26), Steven Cayea (‘25), and Aidan Norris (‘25) were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, which is widely regarded as the most prestigious honor society in the United States. They are pictured along with our Director of Leadership and Character in Academic, Civic, and Religious Life Bradley Burroughs (far left) and Executive Director Michael Lamb, both of whom are also members of Phi Beta Kappa.

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Three panelists from the inaugural Leadership and Character in the Law Conference reflect on the themes and panels that they found interesting. #law #prohumanitate

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Award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy and Babel: An Arcane History, Rebecca F. Kuang, will be coming to campus this week! She will discuss themes about the Asian diaspora, Japan’s war crimes and colonization, the nuances of drug consumption, the weaponization of Christianity, and the spiritual perception of the universe. This event will take place on Friday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the Pugh Auditorium. See you there!

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Is it valuable to have a job you enjoy? To work in public service? To be open to changing your grand plans? NC Attorney General @jeffjacksonnc touched on those topics during his keynote address to our inaugural Leadership and Character in the Law Conference last week. You can find a recap and a video of the full speech and Q&A at the link in our bio.

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Some end of the week advice from @jeffjacksonnc to the @wfuniversity community.

More highlights from the N.C. Attorney General’s speech and our Leadership and Character in the Law Conference are coming next week.

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Join us for an inspiring Vocation Panel, organized by our Leadership and Character Scholars Class of 2026, featuring panelists who have found meaning in their work. This event will take place on Friday, March 28th from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Pugh Auditorium (Benson Room 215). We hope you will join us!

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North Carolina Attorney General @jeffjacksonnc will speak at @wfuniversity on Thursday at 6 p.m. as the keynote speaker for our inaugural "Leadership and Character in the Law" conference. We`re making a limited number of seats available for the Wake Forest and Winston-Salem community. Registration is required.

For more information, tap on the link in our bio.

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