University of Mississippi: A Semester Against Grandstanding
Throughout the Spring 2025 semester, the University of Mississippi (UM) hosted several character-centered events and workshops with the recurring theme of moral grandstanding, or abusing moral talk to enhance your own social status. UM invited Dr. Brandon Warmke to give the annual Ethically Speaking lecture on his book Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk on April 11.
Afterward, Nathan Oakes, Director of Education and Student Programs and Assistant Professor of Practice, wrote: “In this age of social media, it is easy to engage in grandstanding and hard to resist the temptation of appearing to be morally righteous. But developing integrity requires both awareness of and strength against such temptations, and developing civility as a personal virtue enhances public discourse.”
“In this age of social media, it is easy to engage in grandstanding and hard to resist the temptation of appearing to be morally righteous. But developing integrity requires both awareness of and strength against such temptations, and developing civility as a personal virtue enhances public discourse.”
UM is presently wrapping up the first year of a three-year Institutional Impact grant titled “Leadership Education Initiative: Integrating Moral, Civic, and Intellectual Character,” under the leadership of Deborah Mower. This grant focuses on developing a coordinated and collaborative environment that empowers students to develop the moral, civic, and intellectual character they need to lead both effectively and ethically. Their activities include investing in faculty and staff training, creating innovative new courses and expanding current offerings, and increasing the rigor of their character assessment.
The interest in questions about tempering and protecting the integrity of our moral discourse was a focal concern in other activities, including the February 25 Character of Leaders Summit and the March 25 Great Debates.