WFU hosts Arthur Schwartz for program on character education

Arthur Schwartz of the John Templeton Foundation will speak about character education in public schools on Feb. 1 as part of Wake Forest University’s 2000-2001 Year of Ethics and Honor event series. He will present, “The Competitive Advantage of Virtue,” at 7 p.m. in Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Schwartz is a former professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He now directs the character development programs at the Templeton Foundation in Pennsylvania. He is one of the leading experts on character education in the United States and has given numerous papers at national conferences.

Schwartz spent several years as director of dropout prevention programs for the School District of Philadelphia. In 1990, former President George Bush honored him for his work to increase student retention rates there.

Since 1992, Schwartz has focused his research on adolescent moral development. He lectures frequently about the effectiveness of character education programs for high school and college students.

Schwartz earned his doctorate in moral education from Harvard. He holds two masters degrees in education, one from Harvard and one from Temple University.

“Arthur Schwartz is widely recognized as the foremost authority on character education in the United States,” said Sam Gladding, associate provost and chairman of the Year of Ethics and Honor Committee. “We invite the general public as well as professionals in the education, psychology, sociology, law and business fields to attend this program.”

Schwartz will answer questions from the audience following his lecture.

The Year of Ethics and Honor is the fifth theme year celebrated at Wake Forest. Previously, the university has celebrated Science and Technology: the Next Millennium(1999-00), the Year of Globalization and Diversity (1998-99), the Year of Religion (1997-98) and the Year of the Arts (1996-97).

For more information about Year of Ethics and Honor events and a complete calendar, visit the Web site, www.wfu.edu/ethics.

Categories: Events, Speakers