LearningWell magazine raises national visibility for Leadership and Character

The University’s Program for Leadership and Character is the focus of a story recently published in LearningWell magazine. “Can Character be Taught? The answer may be more important than ever.” 

In the piece, Wake Forest is recognized as having some of the world’s leading experts on how character is developed and measured. 

“It is no coincidence that Wake Forest is now among the country’s leading institutions in character-based leadership. The founding motto…Pro Humanitate (“For Humanity”), connotes both a holistic approach to teaching and “a beyond the self” dimension. With a long tradition of study in this area, Wake Forest faculty like Christian B. Miller, Eranda Jayawickreme, William Fleeson, and R. Michael Furr are worldwide experts on character,” Marjorie Malpiede, the author of the piece.

The article also covers the three pillars for how to teach, test and scale character-based leadership. Wake Forest students, “Leaders in Training” share about their opportunities and experiences in the program.

“We’re grateful to LearningWell and Marjorie Malpiede for taking so much time and care to get to know the people and ideas that animate our Program. We are so encouraged by the number of faculty, staff and students at Wake Forest who are committed to putting character at the center of leadership. And we’re excited to see the widespread interest from other colleges and universities in our new Educating Character Initiative, which will create a network of higher education institutions focused on developing character,” said Michael Lamb, executive director of the Program for Leadership and Character.

In January 2023, Wake Forest was awarded a $30.7 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support the University’s Program for Leadership and Character and create a national higher education network devoted to educating character.

In addition to supporting Wake Forest’s creative programming and cutting-edge research, the grant helps extend the impact of that work nationwide by helping public and private colleges and universities across the country develop and strengthen their own character education initiatives.

LearningWell magazine is published by the Mary Christie Institute and the Coalition for Transformational Education, organizations dedicated to examining how higher education experiences can lead to improved wellbeing both on campus and throughout one’s lifetime.

The Program for Leadership and Character has hosted international conferences on Educating Character,  Character and Professions and The Arts of Leading. Read more news and learn about past events on Leadership and Character website here.