Building Communities of Character Conference
Learn, share, and engage with us.
Join us at Wake Forest University to discuss educating character in higher education.
Conference Details
| WHEN: | December 3-5, 2026 |
| WHERE: | Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC |
| KEYNOTE SPEAKER: | Michael Schur Director, Producer, Author of How To Be Perfect |
| PRESENTED BY: | The Educating Character Initiative, on behalf of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University |
LEARN MORE: Overview |Keynote Speaker|Sponsors and Organizers
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Conference Overview
Building Communities of Character is an international, interdisciplinary conference designed to foster conversation, collaboration, and community in support of a movement for character education in higher education.
The three-day gathering is hosted by the Program for Leadership and Character and its Educating Character Initiative, and will be held on campus at Wake Forest University from December 3-5.
During our time together, we hope to:
- cultivate community among educators from different backgrounds and institutions who learn from and support each other in the work of educating character in their own institutional contexts;
- deepen our collective understanding of character and what it means to foster character education in higher education settings;
- equip faculty, staff, and administrators with concepts, strategies, and resources to support their efforts to educate character in distinct contexts; and
- create spaces for interdisciplinary and cross-institutional conversations that promote collaboration and partnership across academic specializations, institutional silos, and between institutions.
Keynote Speaker
In partnership with Face to Face Speaker Forum, the Program for Leadership and Character will welcome Michael Schur to the stage as the keynote speaker for the conference — Communities of Impact for Educating Character. Over his nearly 30-year career, Schur has created or co-created shows like A Man On The Inside, The Good Place, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, Rutherford Falls, and the new show Dig on Peacock. He has also served as Executive Producer on The Office, Hacks, and Master of None, among others. His first TV writing job was at Saturday Night Live, where he spent seven seasons, including three as the producer of “Weekend Update” with Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. In 2022, he authored The New York Times Bestseller How to Be Perfect. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jennifer and their two children.
This moderated discussion will take place on December 3 at 6 p.m. inside Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University. Tickets are required and will be provided to conference attendees as part of the registration process.
Sponsorship
This conference and keynote are made possible through the generous support of Lilly Endowment Inc., the Kern Family Foundation, the Face to Face Speaker Forum, and Wake Forest University.
About the Organizers
The Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University aims to inspire, educate, and empower leaders of character to serve humanity. Through innovative teaching, creative programming, and cutting-edge research, the Program seeks to transform the lives of students, foster an inclusive culture of leadership and character at Wake Forest, and catalyze a broader public conversation that places character at the center of leadership.
The Educating Character Initiative is catalyzing a movement for character education at colleges and universities across the United States. Through our work in grantmaking, collective learning, and community engagement, we equip institutions of higher education with the funding, resources, and support necessary to integrate character into their distinctive institutional contexts, curricula, and cultures. Our broad aspiration is to enable institutions of higher education to become communities of character that form students, staff, and faculty to act with character and for the common good. For more information on the Educating Character Initiative, visit our website and register for the ECI Community.