Upcoming Webinars and Book Club
Educating Character Initiative Fall 2025 Webinar Series: Character For, With, and In Community
Join us for a series of online workshops on character for, with, and in community moderated by Aaron D. Cobb, Senior Scholar of Character Education with the Educating Character Initiative at Wake Forest University. These sessions feature panelists and presenters who engage questions about how to deepen, extend, and shape communities for greater wholeness; how to engage in this work with reciprocity, care, justice, and hospitality; and how character is formed and expressed through good communities. We are pleased to offer these webinars in a forum that enables more of the ECI community to learn from others who are doing important work across the country.
Session 5: Grantee Spotlight: Character For, With, and In Institutions
Session Leaders:
- Joseph Clair, Associate Provost of the Division of Humanities and Honors and Professor of Theology and Culture at George Fox University
- Daryl Van Tongeren, Director of the Frost Center for Social Science Research and Professor of Psychology at Hope College
- Thane Erickson, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the Clinical Psychology Internship at Seattle Pacific University
- David Henreckson, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith & Learning at Whitworth University
Description: Join Principal Investigators from grants at George Fox University, Hope College, Seattle Pacific University, and Whitworth University as they share their work on their campuses during a convening focused on the unique affordances and challenges of forming character for the common good at faith-based institutions.
Date/Time: December 9, 4 – 5 p.m. ET on Zoom
Moderator: Aaron D. Cobb, Senior Scholar of Character, Educating Character Initiative
The Flourishing Student Webinar Series, in Partnership with the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at The University of Birmingham
In recent years, many universities have expressed their commitment to a holistic, socially-engaged vision of higher education and are increasingly talking about supporting students to develop ‘character’ and ‘attributes’. These are the qualities necessary for students to navigate the fourth industrial revolution, flourish, and make a positive contribution to society.
This international webinar series, presented in partnership with the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at The University of Birmingham, features presentations on the role of universities to help their students to cultivate the character and attributes required for human flourishing. After the success of the first series and second series, in this third series, six more world leading universities renowned for their focus on character education, will share their knowledge and expertise.
Session 1: Notre Dame University
Session Leader: Suzanne Shanahan, Professor of Practice and the Leo and Arlene Hawk Executive Director at the Institute for Social Concerns
Date/Time: TBD
Session 2: Universidad Austral, Argentina
Session Leader: Claudia Vanney, Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Belén Mesurado, Vice Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Director of the Psychology Program at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences
Date/Time: November 18, 2025, 9 – 10 a.m. EST
Session 3: University of California, Irvine
Session Leader: Duncan Prichard, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Center for Knowledge, Technology and Society; Director of The Anteater Virtues Project
Date/Time: January 26, 2026, 12 – 1 p.m. EST
Session 4: SDU University, Kazakhstan
Session Leader: Speakers to be confirmed.
Date/Time: Specific date and time in March 2026 to be confirmed.
Session 5: University of Teacher Education Vienna
Session Leader: Roland Bernhard is a professor of “School Development, Leadership & Leadership Culture” at the University of Teacher Education Vienna/Krems and Fellow at the University of Salzburg
Date/Time: May 5, 2026, 9 – 10 a.m. EDT
Session 6: Superior University, Pakistan
Session Leader: Syed Ali Mohsin Naqvi, Director CAKCCIS, Chaudhry Abdul Khaliq Center for Contemporary Islamic Sciences
Date/Time: Specific date and time in June 2026 to be confirmed.
ECI Community Book Club
Our book club engages authors in conversations about their published books and their implications for character-building efforts. An ECI Scholar of Character interviews with the author during the first half of each gathering, and the second half of the event is spent in audience Q&A.
We will announce the Spring 2026 books, authors, and dates soon. Join the ECI Community to be the first to know.