Thanks to the support of Lilly Endowment Inc. and Wake Forest University, the Educating Character Initiative (ECI) has awarded $15.6 million in new Institutional Impact Grants to 28 projects among 33 colleges and universities. Each of these institutions seeks to undertake a substantial and sustained effort to educate character in undergraduate populations across their institutions. These three-year grants of up to $1 million will provide support to enable institutional leaders, faculty, and staff to infuse character in undergraduate curricula and programming in ways that align organically with their mission, context, and culture.

New funding from Lilly Endowment Inc., announced on July 10, added $10 million to fund this round of Institutional Impact grants and provides $20 million to fund and support another full round of ECI grants to institutions in 2026. 

“We were especially impressed by the exceptional quantity and quality of this year’s submissions. We are grateful for the expanded support from Lilly Endowment, which made it possible to provide awards to even more institutions.”

Jennifer Rothschild, the director of the ECI.

One of the awards is a multi-institutional grant for a collaboration between six institutions. Other recipients include two community colleges, seven minority-serving institutions, 10 public institutions, 19 private institutions of which 12 are religiously affiliated, and two women-serving institutions. These projects are spread across the United States and include six institutions in the West, eight in the South or Mid-South, seven in the Northeast, and seven in the Midwest.

“Many of these projects are diverse in scope, approach, and context,” said Rothschild. “They demonstrate a wider vision for institutional and cultural change that addresses the conditions in which character emerges and have committed to programs that will affect the lives of students. We are excited to see how these and other institutions are helping to catalyze the movement to develop character across higher education.”

Impact Grant Awards

The list of institutions receiving 2025 Institutional Impact Grants, along with the names of their projects and project leaders, are included below:

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

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

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

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

Loyola Marymount University
Intellectual Character Initiative
Daniel Speak, Jason Baehr

Pepperdine University
Cultivating Virtue via Great Books Pathway Through the Core Curriculum
Jessica Hooten Wilson, Paul Begin 

Radford University
Cultivating Character and Leadership for Solving Wicked Problems and Beyond
Heather Keith, Paige Tan, Steven Fesmire, Guy Axtell, Tay Keong Tan

Salem College
Touchstones for Character: Gender, Care, and Justice
Diane Lipsett, Jennifer Borrero, JaNae Joyner

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

St. Olaf College
Character in Community: An Exemplarist Approach to Character Education in the Undergraduate Experience
Anthony Bateza

Syracuse University
Character Development Through Sport Fan Engagement
Brian E. Konkol, Jeremy S. Jordan

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 North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Educating for the Virtues of Attention
Michael Vazquez, Sarah Stroud, Donovan Livingston

University of St. Thomas
The Four Pillars Project
Eddy Rojas, Michael Naughton, Jennifer McGuire Illig, Heidi Giebel, Melanie Tucker, Tonia Bock

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

Applicants who did not receive funding in this round are encouraged to re-apply in Spring 2026. Others interested in learning more or advancing character education at their own institutions are encouraged to join the more than 1,600 members of the ECI community, which offers webinars, convenings, and resources to support this work. Registration is free.