The Catholic University of America has won a $1 million Institutional Impact grant from the Educating Character Initiative to expand programs and initiatives designed to cultivate virtue for all of the University’s 3,100 undergraduate students.
The Educating Character Initiative is part of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University, which aims to support a wider community of individuals and institutions to educate about character within colleges and universities. ECI is awarding 24 Institutional Impact grants.
University President Dr. Peter K. Kilpatrick said, “Virtue and character formation are central to the dialogue between faith and reason and, therefore, our identity as the nation’s and the bishops’ Catholic university. These concepts have long been incorporated into courses and research, and are central to programs such as campus ministry. This grant provides the University with a unique opportunity to more deeply integrate the learning – and living – of virtue across campus, providing all undergraduates knowledge and practices that will benefit them throughout their lives.”
Catholic University will use its grant to incorporate virtue formation into existing courses in support of the course material and goals. The University also will create an online catalog of resources for faculty and staff to use, and will make the materials accessible for other universities, both religious and secular.
All Catholic University undergraduate students already receive a foundation in a virtue tradition, taking a minimum of 12 hours each of philosophy and theology. Courses in business, psychology, nursing, and other areas also incorporate virtue-based exercises. Examples include character reflection, a virtue diary, and reflections on clinical (patient) care experiences. These and other practices will be incorporated into courses reaching every undergraduate student.
"We are excited to formalize and expand our work on forming our students in virtue to the entire undergraduate population of Catholic University in a way that can then be shared further across all of higher education," said Andrew Abela, project lead and dean of the Busch School of Business.
Initial faculty interest has exceeded expectations. Planning will take place throughout the coming academic year, with implementation scheduled to start in fall 2025.