Roanoke awarded national grant to create comprehensive model for character education

Roanoke College has received a $300,000 Institutional Impact Grant to expand character education initiatives that prepare students to lead with compassion, integrity, and resourcefulness in their careers and communities.

The funding from the Educating Character Initiative, a project of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University, will support new student programs, service-learning opportunities, and mentoring resources for faculty, staff and alumni.

"This is work that goes to the very core of our mission," President Frank Shushok Jr. said. "Education's deepest purpose is to mentor and inspire future leaders who understand their unique contribution and genuinely desire to use it for the common good. It is work that we embrace wholeheartedly at Roanoke College."

The three-year grant follows an in-depth campus dialogue about leadership and character, which have long been central to the Roanoke experience. Over 700 students, faculty and staff came together to examine what those ideas mean to a new generation and how campus programs can evolve to better serve students.

The result is a unique framework for character education tailored to our community. The comprehensive blueprint, called "Maroons on a Mission," will unfold between now and 2028-2029, touching on every part of campus life including:

• Launching a new program for first-year students that integrates service-learning, common readings and discussions, and mentorship from Student Success advisors trained in character education frameworks
• Organizing student leadership workshops focused on character and belonging
• Expanding professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, including establishing a character-focused leadership academy
• Introducing new workshops and team-based projects with Athletics and Campus Recreation
• Offering trainings for alumni mentors to help them engage with students on questions that go beyond career advice and delve into ethical decision-making, character, and the pursuit of purpose

Together, these and other strategies will create a new model for embedding character development across the full range of the student experience and the shared campus workspace. The work is deeply aligned with the college's strategic plan, creating a connective tissue that unites its imperatives to advance student success, academic innovation and community collaboration.

The heart of the strategic plan is a pledge to ensure that exploration of purpose and pursuit of character remain a defining part of a Roanoke education.

"Our commitment is clear," said Kathy Wolfe, dean of the college and senior vice president for academic life and learning. "We are designing thoughtful, cohesive programs to ensure that leadership and character development are woven into everything we do. It is an investment in our students and in the future they help create, giving them the essential skills to make conscientious decisions, build strong relationships and use their knowledge to make a positive difference."

Roanoke will not only implement its plan, but also study its results and partner with other colleges, contributing to the national conversation on evidence-based models for character education. A cross-institutional team led by Associate Professor Laura Hartman and Assistant Professor Karin Carneal will oversee the work, monitoring each program and assessing its effectiveness at helping students, staff and faculty understand and apply the concepts discussed.  

“Character is developed through practice, reflection, and meaningful engagement with others,” Hartman said. “This support allows us to create more opportunities for students to put these principles into action and to connect what they're learning with how they want to lead, serve, and live.”

"Roanoke College will be on the cutting edge of character education, asking meaningful questions about student belonging, well-being and perseverance in a fast-changing world," Carneal said. "Together as a community, we will help strengthen the vital, human-centered skills that serve our graduates well in life. We're grateful to the Educating Character Initiative for supporting this work."

The Educating Character Initiative supports innovative colleges that are pursuing substantial and sustained methods of creating communities of character. This is the second grant Roanoke has received from the program. Last year, a Capacity-Building Grant supported the campus dialogue that created the new framework now being implemented. More information about the Educating Character Initiative is available here.

Over the past year, more than 700 students, faculty and staff worked together to take on complex questions about what character means and what character education should strive for. The result:

Character education should help students grow in integrity, empathy, compassion, resilience, boldness, resourcefulness, and joy.

It is with that in the mind that the college now moves forward with its multi-part character education plan. Programs will be available for students, staff, faculty and alumni. Maroons interested in taking part should contact hartman@roanoke.edu or kaerwer@roanoke.edu. 

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Wake Forest University or Lilly Endowment Inc.