With support from Lilly Endowment Inc., Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative (ECI) has awarded $20.5 million in Institutional Impact Grants to 44 projects directly impacting 49 colleges and universities. Each institution will undertake a long-term initiative to advance character education for undergraduates. These three-year grants, up to $1 million each, empower leaders, faculty, and staff to integrate character into undergraduate curricula and programs in alignment with their mission, context, and culture.

Additional funding from Lilly Endowment Inc., announced on July 17, expanded this round of Institutional Impact Grants and will support a full round of ECI grants in 2027.

“We were impressed by the quantity, quality, and variety of submissions. We’re grateful for the expanded support from Lilly Endowment, which allowed us to provide awards to more institutions this year,” said Jennifer Rothschild, executive director of the ECI, part of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest.

The grants support a wide range of institutions, including community colleges, large public institutions and research universities, HBCUs, liberal arts colleges, and private colleges and universities, including faith-based institutions. Four awards are multi-institutional grants supporting collaborations among nine institutions.

“The work of character formation at any given institution must fit its mission and vision and the population of students it serves. We think that character is for everyone, but it is not one-size-fits-all,” Rothschild said. “The projects chosen for this year’s round of Institutional Impact Grants reflect what makes each of these institutions unique. As a pool, they’re diverse in scope, approach, and context and demonstrate a broad vision for institutional and cultural change. Each project will create conditions where character can develop for the common good.”

This year’s selected projects include redesigning engineering courses, developing prison education and nursing programs, enhancing first-year seminars, expanding community engagement, and revising general education core curricula. Claflin University, South Carolina’s oldest HBCU, is basing its character framework on the African philosophies of Sankofa and Ubuntu. Columbia University’s Center for Justice will create a Human Development and Justice Studies Certificate in collaboration with incarcerated scholars at several New York State correctional facilities. Florida Atlantic University’s project focuses on environmental character education that will strengthen students’ expertise in related theory, pedagogy, and research.

“Having character is about being, pursuing, and restoring wholeness in ourselves and in our communities,” said Rothschild. “Each of these grant recipients is committed to creating programs that will develop character in their students and institutional communities. We’re excited to be partnering with them and continue to support their work.”

Impact Grant Awards

The list of institutions receiving 2026 Institutional Impact Grants, along with the names of their projects and project leaders, is included below:

Amerion College
The Huntington Learning eXperience (HLX): Educating for Character
Kris Bertelsen

Claflin University
The Village: Reviving the Legacy of a Visionary Leadership Institute
Jonathan Smalls and LaKerri Mack

College of Our Lady of the Elms (Elms College)
Elms College Educating Character Initiative: First Year Seminar
Jennifer L. Granger Sullivan

Columbia University
Liberatory Learning: Building Character and Community through Collaborative Education
Geraldine Downey, Samuel Roberts, and Noah Remnick

Cornell University
Reshaping Higher Education’s Strategy for Community Engagement: The Virtues of Cultural Humility in a Global Landscape
Basil Safi and Kelly Whitaker

Emory University
Developing a Wise Heart
John Lysaker

Fairleigh Dickinson University
Creating a Culture of Character Across the University
Robert McGrath and Scott Parsons

Florida Atlantic University
Wise Owls: Infusing Environmental Character Education Across Colleges at Florida Atlantic University
Bryan H. Nichols and Michelle L. Petersen

Florida Institute of Technology
Cultivating Core Character through the General Education Corel Education Core
Lars Jones, Heidi Hatfield Edwards, and Andrew Aberdein

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University
Perseverance in Nursing Education: A Replicable Character Formation Model for Healthcare Training
David Whidden

Friends University
Flourishing as Friends: Cultivating Character in Communities of Practice
Lori A. Kanitz

Furman University
What Really Matters? Cultivating Character and Courage at Furman University
Alexis Carter Thomas and Vaughn CroweTipton

Georgetown College
Educating for Love, Justice, and Responsibility: An Institution-Wide Character Education Program at Georgetown College
Shelly P. Johnson, Roger Ward

Gonzaga University
Pietas: Building Jesuit Character
Shannon Dunn, Joe Mudd, Kevin Vander Schel, and Kent Porterfield

Hampton University
Becoming Unwired: Patterns Interrupted, Life Reimagined
Debra L. Haggins

Loyola University Chicago
Undergraduate Jesuit Character Education at Loyola University Chicago
Michael Bradley Burns, James Flavin, Shannon Howes, and Joseph Vukov

Mercer University
Building Character on Purpose: Leadership and Mission
Juanita Kimiyo Forrester and William J. Carty

Michigan State University
Discovery via Internships: Forming Spartan Character through Engaging, Reflecting, and Networking (DISCERN)
Judith Stoddart

Middle Georgia State University
Character Integration Project at Middle Georgia State University
Winfield F. Tufts

Mount Mary University
Trust and Dare: A Constellation of Character Commonplace Initiatives; A Reimagining of Social Justice
Kristen Carioti and Jennifer Kontny

New Mexico Highlands University, Northern New Mexico College, Harvard University, and SEL4NewMexico
The NMHU Good Futures Project: We Are All Related – Centering Community, Identity, and Purpose
Rebecca Maldonado Moore, Lynn Barendsen, Shelby Clark, Amy McConnell-Franklin, and Sandra Rodriguez

Ohio University
Character in Appalachian Ohio: Hope, Compassion, Humility, Courage
Kristina Bross, Laura Harrison, Mary Kate Hurley, Christopher S. Lewis, and Peter Mather

Olin College of Engineering
Engineers of Moral Action: Building a Pervasive Culture of Character Development through Storytelling
Erhardt Graeff, Zachary del Rosario, Benjamin Linder, Jonathan Adler, Gillian Epstein, and Sam Michalka

Providence College
Friars Flourish: Seek More | Know Your Story
Christopher Justin Brophy and Allyse Gruslin

Rhodes College
Service to whom? Loyalty to what? Truth from where? Living into Rhodes’ Values for the Next Hundred Years in Memphis
Lori Garner

Roanoke College
Maroons on a Mission: Character, Purpose, and Leadership at Roanoke College
Karin Carneal and Laura Hartman

Saint Mary’s College of California
Character for the Common Good
Sarah Beth Dempsey

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Expanding the Vision: A Culture of Online Character Education
Michael Hahn and Andrew LaMere

Southern Methodist University
Heart of a Mustang: Aligning, Equipping, and Engaging SMU for Institutional Character Development
Rita Kirk and Matt Nadler

St. Catherine University
Developing Virtue through Action: A Curriculum to Foster Love of Neighbor without Distinction
Sophie B. Hunt and Rachel A. Neiwert

State University of New York (SUNY)
Integrating Character Education into the Empire State Service Corps
Matthew Schaffer

Taylor University
The Virtuous Community: An Honors Guild Initiative
Scott Moeschberger, Kris Johnson, and Scott Barrett

Tufts University
Advancing Civic Character at Tufts and Beyond: A Three-Year Institutional Impact Initiative
Sunah Hyun, Jonathan Tirrell, and Samantha Fried

University of Alabama
Using Character Education to Encourage Sentinel Behavior Among Students
Todd DeZoort and Troy Pollard

University of California, Santa Barbara and George Mason University
An Evidence-Based Program for Promoting Community-Centered Curiosity and Associated Virtues
Jonathan W. Schooler, Madeleine E. Gross, and Todd B. Kashdan

University of Dayton and Sinclair Community College
Building a Thriving Community, Rooted in Contagious Integrity and Authentic Connection Through a Two-Year Public College and a Four-Year Private University Partnership
Nancy McHugh and Myra Bozeman

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The Alma Project: Promoting Neighborliness at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Christopher Napolitano, Emily Stone, Chrystalla Mouza, and Kaylin Ratner

University of Jamestown
Character Across Campus: Holistic Development of Virtue
Elizabeth K. Hunt, Anna Munns Engdahl, Heidi Larson, James Bear, and Brian Lang

University of San Diego
Educating the Whole Person: Character Formation through Service Learning, Contemplative Practice, and Virtue Ethics
Dustin Sharp, Topher McDougal, Christopher Nayve, and Esteban del Rio

University of Washington
Fostering Leaders of Character: A Peer- and Community-based Approach to Cultivating Practical Wisdom
Bruce J. Avolio and Kaleen Drummey

Valparaiso University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Building Lives for Good: Character Formation through Story
Reva Johnson, Anna Stewart, Michelle Marincel Payne, Michael Chikeleze, Lisa Jennings, Callie Ingram, Ben Jelen, and Sam Graber

Warren Wilson College
Cultivating Climate Character: Relational Stewardship and Citizenship at Warren Wilson College
Siti Kusujiarti and Scotti M. Norman

Westmont College
Enculturating Character Project
Steve Porter and Eileen McMahon McQuade

Yale University
Character and the Life Worth Living
Matthew Croasmun