FDU Receives Grant to Create a Culture of Character
August 26, 2026 – Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) has been awarded a $247,628 Institutional Impact Grant from the Educating Character Initiative, a part of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. The funding will be for the three-year project titled Creating a Culture of Character Across the University, and will support a University-wide effort to make character development an increasingly intentional part of the undergraduate experience at FDU. The initiative will extend across both curricular and co-curricular settings, creating opportunities for students to understand, practice and reflect upon the character strengths and virtues that contribute to meaningful lives, responsible leadership and human flourishing.
FDU was one of 49 colleges and universities that received Institutional Impact Grants from the ECI in 2026. “We were overwhelmed by the quality of the proposals we received this year,” said Jennifer Rothschild, director of the Educating Character Initiative. “It is exciting to see so many institutions developing character projects rooted in their own identities and missions. We have so much to learn from these projects.”
FDU’s project is designed to move character education beyond a single course or program and make it an intentional part of the undergraduate experience. The initiative builds on work begun through an earlier Educating Character Initiative Capacity-Building Grant, which supported the development and pilot testing of character-focused modules now incorporated into FDU’s core curriculum.
Over the next three years, Creating a Culture of Character Across the University will expand that work across both curricular and co-curricular settings. Character development will be incorporated into FDU’s core curriculum and courses across multiple academic disciplines, while additional efforts will engage student-athletes, resident students, students receiving additional support through Student Affairs, faculty and staff, and the broader campus community.
The initiative is organized around a research-based model of character described as heart, mind and will. The “heart” dimension focuses on moral character and the capacity to care about what is good; the “mind” focuses on practical wisdom and the ability to make sound judgments in complex situations; and the “will” focuses on perseverance, resilience and the self-regulation necessary to translate good intentions into action.
A central goal of the project is to ensure that students do not encounter character only once, but repeatedly throughout their FDU experience. Students will have opportunities to learn about character, practice it, reflect upon it and apply it to their studies, relationships, leadership, professional aspirations and broader lives.
The project will also introduce practical-wisdom coaching using evidence-based character assessments, expand character-focused learning experiences across FDU’s undergraduate programs, provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff and support campus-wide efforts to recognize and celebrate character. The long-term aim is to create a sustainable, evidence-based model that becomes part of the distinctive identity of an FDU education.
The Principal Investigator for the grant is Professor of Psychology and Director of FDU’s Center for Character Development Robert McGrath. Executive Director of FDU’s Institute for Character and Leadership Scott Parsons serves as Co-Principal Investigator.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for the University,” McGrath said. “Technology is dramatically changing the way we work and the complexity of work/life challenges. In this landscape, who you are, the integrity and thoughtfulness you bring with you to your work, takes on an increasingly important role. More than a decade ago, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences recognized that the most valuable skills for the 21st century have to do with personal attributes like reflective thinking, perseverance and moral integrity. We consider growth in these areas to be an inherent part of a truly higher education.”
Parsons said, “What excites me most about this grant is that we are not simply creating another character education program; we are working to create a culture of character. We want character development to become part of the lived experience of an FDU education — something students encounter in the classroom, in athletics and residence life, in leadership, in their relationships and in the decisions they make about who they want to become. Our work is organized around the development of heart, mind and will: the moral character to care about what is good, the practical wisdom to discern what is right in complex situations, and the strength of will to act upon it. Ultimately, higher education should help students develop not only what they know and what they can do, but who they are becoming and how they will use their abilities in service of others and the common good.”
The grant reflects FDU’s broader commitment to educating the whole person and to preparing students not only for professional success, but also for thoughtful, ethical and purposeful participation in their communities. Through Creating a Culture of Character Across the University, FDU aims to establish a sustainable model in which character formation becomes an intentional and visible part of the University’s educational culture.
McGrath and Parsons added that FDU, The Institute for Character and Leadership and the Center for Character Development are grateful to Wake Forest, the Program for Leadership and Character, The Educating Character Initiative and Lilly Endowment Inc. for this generous grant.