Fairleigh Dickinson University Launches Institute for Character and Leadership
New institute will advance character, leadership and human flourishing across FDU and through partnerships with organizations and communities in New Jersey, nationally and globally
August 19, 2026 — Fairleigh Dickinson University has established the Institute for Character and Leadership (ICL) within the Marion Turpan College of Psychology and Counseling, creating a new interdisciplinary hub dedicated to advancing character development, leadership and human flourishing across the University and beyond.
The institute brings together FDU’s growing expertise in character, empathy, leadership and human development. The ICL will serve both the University community and external partners, translating research into practical programs and experiences designed to help individuals, teams and organizations flourish.
FDU President Michael Avaltroni said, “The creation of the Institute for Character and Leadership reflects our belief that higher education has a responsibility not only to prepare students for successful careers but also to help them develop the human capacities needed to lead, serve and contribute meaningfully to society.”
Benjamin Freer, dean of the Marion Turpan College of Psychology and Counseling, added, “By unifying FDU’s strengths in character development, empathy, leadership and human flourishing, the institute creates an exciting interdisciplinary platform for serving the growth and development of our students and the culture of the University community. Simultaneously, the institute’s work will support organizations and communities throughout our region, country and world.”
Scott Parsons, a leadership and character scholar, retired U.S. Army officer and former West Point faculty member, serves as the institute’s founding executive director. “Character shapes not only who we are, but how we lead, how we relate to others and how we respond when circumstances are difficult or uncertain,” Parsons said. “The Institute for Character and Leadership exists to help people understand, develop and put character into practice. Our aspiration is both simple and ambitious: to help people become the kinds of leaders, colleagues and human beings who enable others to flourish.”
Robert McGrath, director of the Center for Character Development, has played a foundational role in shaping the institute and its vision for bringing the study and development of character into closer conversation with leadership, education and professional practice. “Over the last decade, the character research program at Fairleigh Dickinson has come to be recognized internationally as a leader in the study of character measurement and education,” McGrath reflected. “The creation of the institute is the next step in that process, using evidence-based tools to encourage the development of leaders of character, a quality desperately needed in this complex and fast-changing world.”
The institute also supports FDU’s commitment to humanics, the integration of technological capability with the distinctly human capacities that will become increasingly important in a rapidly changing world. Through education, research, experiential learning and organizational partnerships, the ICL will help students and professionals cultivate the qualities necessary to exercise sound judgment, build trust, navigate complexity and lead with humanity.
“The more sophisticated our technology becomes, the more important our humanity becomes,” Parsons said. “FDU’s vision for humanics recognizes that the future will require more than technical competence alone. It will require empathy, character, practical wisdom, critical thinking and the ability to build meaningful relationships. The Institute for Character and Leadership has an important role to play in helping make that vision tangible — in classrooms, workplaces, communities and the lives of the people we serve.”
The institute serves as an umbrella for four FDU centers whose complementary work spans character, empathy, leadership and human flourishing:
- The Center for Character Development advances the study, assessment and development of character and character strengths through research, education and applied programming.
- The Empathy Center for Research and Training advances evidence-based approaches to understanding, teaching and measuring empathy.
- The Stigma Free Center works to reduce stigma, promote understanding and strengthen communities through education, research and engagement.
- The Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Leadership brings together scholarship and practice from across disciplines to deepen understanding of leadership and prepare people to lead effectively in their organizations and communities.
Together, the centers provide an interdisciplinary foundation for the institute’s work while maintaining their distinctive areas of scholarship, programming and impact.
The ICL is intentionally both inward- and outward-facing. Within FDU, the institute will collaborate with colleges, schools and departments to create opportunities for students, faculty and staff to explore character, leadership and flourishing through curricula, workshops, coaching, research and experiential learning.
Beyond the University, the ICL will work with organizations and communities throughout northern New Jersey and the greater New York metropolitan region while building national and international collaborations in higher education, healthcare, business, public service and other sectors. The goal is not simply to extend FDU’s reach, but to create reciprocal partnerships through which research informs practice and the experiences of practitioners and communities inform research and education.
Among the institute’s early initiatives are character and leadership development programs for students and organizational leaders, interdisciplinary research collaborations, executive and professional education and partnerships addressing leadership and human flourishing in healthcare and other professions.
For Parsons, the institute’s home within the Marion Turpan College of Psychology and Counseling provides a particularly meaningful foundation for its mission. The college was recently the recipient of the largest single gift in FDU’s history — a $6 million gift from an anonymous donor to support and advance the college’s programs. In recognition of the gift, the college was named in honor of the late FDU alumna Marion Turpan, BS’63, MA’65 (Metro), and her enduring commitment to education.
“FDU has an extraordinary opportunity to connect rigorous scholarship with something deeply practical: helping people live, work and lead well,” Parsons said. “What excites me most about the ICL is that this is not character and leadership studied at a distance. We want to put the best research into the hands of students, educators, healthcare professionals, executives, public servants and communities and learn from them in return. If we can help people discover and develop what is best within themselves and use those strengths in service of others, we can contribute to workplaces, institutions and communities where more people have the opportunity to flourish.”
The ICL will work across disciplinary and institutional boundaries, building collaborations among scholars, educators and practitioners who share an interest in the role character and leadership play in addressing some of society’s most complex challenges.
To learn more about the Institute for Character and Leadership, its four centers, research, programs and partnerships, visit the institute’s website.
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a globally recognized private institution of higher education committed to academic excellence, innovation, professional preparation and community engagement. With campuses in New Jersey and beyond, FDU offers a wide array of programs that prepare students to excel in their fields while making meaningful contributions to society.