Institutional Impact Grants
The Educating Character Initiative awards Institutional Impact Grants of between $100,000 and $1,000,000 to higher-education institutions that wish to undertake a substantial and sustained effort to educate character in undergraduate populations across their institution. These three-year grants provide support to enable institutional leaders, faculty, and staff to infuse character in undergraduate curricula and programming in ways that align organically with their college or university’s mission, context, and culture. Institutional Impact Grants may be especially useful for institutions that have already begun educating character in their context, that have previously received a Capacity-Building Grant from the ECI, and/or that have faculty and staff with the relevant expertise to undertake a major initiative dedicated to character.
We encourage institutions to be creative in designing, implementing, and integrating character education organically within their unique contexts.
Current Grantees
Arizona State University
Cultivating Civic, Moral, and Epistemic Virtues Among Undergraduates in Arizona’s Public Universities
Joan McGregor, Tyler DesRoches, and Juliann Vitullo
Austin Community College District
Transforming the Faculty & Student Experience: A Framework for Growing Character at Austin Community College
Arun John, Ted Hadzi-Antich Jr., Grant Potts
Ball State University
Cultivating Civic Character for the Common Good (C4G)
David J. Roof, Anand R. Marri, Pamela Schaal
Baylor University
Character in Deeds: A Community of Practice Approach to Holistic & Intentional Character Education at Baylor University
Karen Melton, Sarah Schnitker
Bellarmine University
Character, Community, and Collaboration: Integrating Character into Experiential Learning
Jon Blandford, Liz Byron
Belmont University
Leading With Character and Purpose
Nathan Webb and Lori Baker
Brandeis University
Developing Just Actors and a Just Community: Character Education as Active Participation and Respectful Inclusion at Brandeis
Anita Hill and Daniel Kryder
Bryn Mawr College
Teaching and Learning Character Together: A Partnership Approach to Preparing Students for Lives of Purpose
Alison Cook-Sather, Joel Schlosser, Jen Callaghan
California State University, Bakersfield; Harvard University; DePauw University; Santa Fe College; Stanford University; and St. Philip’s College
Educating Intellectual & Civic Character Through Dialogue: Expanding the Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership
Nate Olson, Jess Miner, Cassie Finley, Jeffrey Dunn, Ann Thebaut, Li Ren-Kaplan, Collin Anthony Chen, Kelli Rolland-Adkins, Anthony Givhan
Calvin University
Forming Virtue Through Community-Engaged Learning: A Proposal for Educating Character at Calvin University
Kevin R. den Dulk, Abbie Lipsker, Gail L. Zandee, Mary Molewyk Doornbos, David P. Warners, Andrea Lubberts
Campbell University
Character, Initiative, and Calling: Educating Leaders for Purposeful Lives and Meaningful Service
Faithe Beam and Borrée Kwok
Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America Virtue and Character Initiative
Peter Kilpatrick, Andrew V. Abela, and Thomas W. Smith
City University of New York – Medgar Evers College
Character Education as it Relates to Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘Beloved Community’
Glenn McMillan
Davidson College
Living the Liberal Arts: Honor, Integrity and the Public Good
Doug Hicks, Chris Marsicano
Fort Lewis College
Institutional Reconciliation as a Transformative Character Education Opportunity
Paul DeBell, Matthew Schaeffer, Rosalinda Linares-Gray
Geneva College
Coherence & Envision Co-Curricular Program
Jeff Cole, Krista Autrey, Jamie Swank
George Fox University
The Character and Leadership Initiative:
Bridging the Curricular and Co-Curricular Divide
Travis Pickell and Joseph Clair
Harvard University
The Virtues for Academic Flourishing Initiative
Tyler J. VanderWeele and Brendan W. Case
Hope College
Accelerating Character Development through a Gratitude- and Generosity-Based Model of Higher Education
Daryl Van Tongeren and Nicole Dunteman
Howard University
Character Education Capacity-Building at Howard University: Toward a Research-Informed HBCU-Based Framework
Jorge Burmicky, Ronald Smith, Anthony K. Wutoh, Elijah Bratton, Tracey Holmes
King University
Thoughtful, Resourceful, Responsible: Three Years Forming Character at King
Glenn E. Sanders and Laura Ong
Loyola Marymount University
Intellectual Character Initiative
Daniel Speak, Jason Baehr
Montclair State University
Planting the SEEDS of Character Growth: Developing Civic and Community Responsibility through Ethical Inquiry using Virtual Reality
Jennifer Brown Urban
Pepperdine University
Cultivating Virtue via Great Books Pathway Through the Core Curriculum
Jessica Hooten Wilson, Paul Begin
Purdue University, in collaboration with Tuskegee University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, and University of New Hampshire
Integrating Character Development in Engineering and Computing Undergraduate Courses
Marisa Exter, Iryna Ashby, Steve Frezza, Mihaela Sabin, and Cassandra Thomas
Radford University
Cultivating Character and Leadership for Solving Wicked Problems and Beyond
Heather Keith, Paige Tan, Steven Fesmire, Guy Axtell, Tay Keong Tan
St. Olaf College
Character in Community: An Exemplarist Approach to Character Education in the Undergraduate Experience
Anthony Bateza
Salem College
Touchstones for Character: Gender, Care, and Justice
Diane Lipsett, Jennifer Borrero, JaNae Joyner
Seattle Pacific University
Classrooms That Cultivate Character: A Psychologically-informed Intervention and Assessment of Christian Virtues
Brittany M. Tausen, Thane M. Erickson, and Krystle Jalalian-Chursky
Seattle University
Character at the Core: Building Capacity and Community at Seattle University
Eric Severson, Lydia Cooper, Hilary Hawley
Seton Hill University
Welcoming, Learning, Celebrating, Serving: Character Education at Seton Hill University
Sarah Marsh, Casey Bowser
Syracuse University
Character Development Through Sport Fan Engagement
Brian E. Konkol, Jeremy S. Jordan
Tuskegee University & California State University, Los Angeles
Building the Character Collaborative: Designing an Inter-Campus, Cross-Cultural Character and Leadership Education Program Rooted in the Philosophy and Vision of Booker T. Washington
David Augustin Hodge, Sr., Kathy Cooke, and Rolundus Rice
United States Military Academy & Wheaton College
Character in the Core Curriculum: How Values-Based Institutions Fare In Forming Student Character
Elise Dykhuis, James Cornwell, Peter Meindl, and LTC Benjamin Elliott
United States Naval Academy
Cultivating Virtue in the Military Academies
Edward Barrett
University of California, Berkeley
Applying the Science of Character to Bridge Differences in Higher Education
Juliana Tafur
University of California, Irvine
Educating for Virtuous Intellectual Character (EVIC)
Duncan Pritchard
University of Delaware
University of Delaware Coalition on Character Development: Advancing Flagship State Institutional Leadership
Johann Ducharme, Michael Chajes, Nicole Long, Jennifer Judy, Dan Freeman
University of Dubuque
Shaping Character Through the Head, Heart, and Hands: A Vision for Purposeful Living
Liza Johnson, Anne Funke, Mary Bryant
University of Kansas
Character Development at the University of Kansas: The IRISE Virtues Initiative
Kim Beets, Nancy E. Snow
University of Mississippi
“The Character of Leaders” Initiative: Integrating Moral, Civic, and Intellectual Virtues
Deborah S. Mower and Melissa L. Jones
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Educating for the Virtues of Attention
Michael Vazquez, Sarah Stroud, Donovan Livingston
University of Notre Dame
Learning Becomes Service: Expanding Character Education Programs at the University of Notre Dame
Suzanne Shanahan and Meghan Sullivan
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania Leadership Education Institute
Zachary Herrmann and Taylor Hausburg
University of St. Thomas
The Four Pillars Project
Eddy Rojas, Michael Naughton, Jennifer McGuire Illig, Heidi Giebel, Melanie Tucker, Tonia Bock
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia Engineering Character Strength Initiative (ECSI)
Rosalyn W. Berne and Jesse Pappas
University of Virginia
University of Virginia’s Civic Cornerstone Fellowship
Rachel Wahl, Stefanie Georgakis Abbott
Utah State University
The Character of Peace
Austin Knuppe, Sidi Meyara
Villanova University
Educating Augustinian Character: Cultivating the Pilgrim Virtues
Anna Moreland, Michael Tomko
Virginia Tech & Colorado School of Mines
Building a Culture of Compassion in STEM Education: Empowering Faculty as Agents of Institutional Change
Qin Zhu, Michele Deramo, and Jill Sible
Whitworth University
Call and Character: Educating Mind and Heart at Whitworth University
David Henreckson and Nathan King