Cultivating Character at Wake Forest University

I recently spent a day at Wake Forest University speaking to faculty and staff about the university’s Program for Leadership and Character.

I left inspired. My heart filled with gratitude.

The Wake Forest “character team” is serious about cultivating a culture of character. Their initiative is rooted in the college’s motto, “Pro Humanitate” (“for humanity”). I quickly learned that Wake’s mission is not just about serving others but nurturing the qualities of character within each person affiliated with the university. 

Twelve. That’s the number of virtues the university has identified as essential to living a good life. Throughout my day on campus, I kept hearing how each of these 12 virtues are braided into the university’s language, practices, and culture.

I especially appreciated learning how the faculty can receive financial support to integrate character into their teaching and curriculum.  I practically went bonkers when hearing how the mathematics department recently invited the author of Mathematics for Human Flourishing to campus. 

During lunch, I broke bread with Michael Lamb, the founding director of the Program for Leadership and Character. As my Jewish mom would say, Michael is a mensch. I truly think Michael’s superpower is his ability to listen (and listen deeply). But he’s also a first-class “doer.” Check out the Program’s wide range of programs and initiatives. 

Michael has also penned one of his enduring gifts to our field: his Seven Strategies for Character Development. 

While traveling home, I started reflecting on my decades-long connections to character and higher education. Twenty-five years ago, while an executive at the John Templeton Foundation, I served as editor for the guidebook Colleges That Encourage Character Development (written for high school students and parents). The publication recognized 405 exemplary programs in 10 different areas (such as Academic Integrity, Faculty and Curriculum, Civic Education). We also highlighted 100 colleges for their commitment to personal and civic responsibility in all dimensions of campus life. 

And then, in 2000, The Chronicle of Higher Education invited me to write an article titled “It’s Not Too Late to Teach College Students About Values.”

But what brings my journey full circle is the white paper I wrote for Character.org in 2011 (I was a board member then). Titled Character Development During the College Years: Why It’s Crucial and How It Can Be Fostered, my last sentence summed up my hope for our future as champions for character: “The quality of our personal and collective lives in the century ahead depends on how seriously we all commit ourselves to developing the character strengths of college students.”

Wake Forest’s president, the university’s board and their many donors have made that commitment. So has Michael Lamb and his amazing team. I left the campus humbled by their steeled commitment to equipping and shaping the lives of every Wake student and staff member, whether it’s making character-based choices or practicing the virtues that will enable them to flourish in school, in relationships, in the workplace, and as citizens. Gratia