Wendt Center Receives Grant to Enhance Character Education and Emotional Intelligence on Campus

DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Wendt Center for Character Education at the University of Dubuque received a $50,000 Capacity-Building Grant to revisit its character education across campus and incorporate social and emotional learning into the center's initiatives. The grant, from the Educating Character Initiative (ECI), is part of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University.

"Our team is excited to elevate our efforts by engaging students, faculty, and staff in meaningful ways," said Liza Johnson, EdD, director of the Wendt Center. "This grant provides the crucial resources and time to refine our goals and strategies, allowing us to create new opportunities for connection and collaboration. At the Wendt Center, we are committed to shaping character for lives of purpose throughout our entire campus community."

UD was one of 41 institutions awarded one-year grants supported by Lilly Endowment Inc. to educate and embed character in their distinctive contexts of higher education.

"The most exciting part about the ECI grant for me is that it has the opportunity to promote the Wendt Center and what we do much more effectively and intentionally across all of campus," said Anne Funke, EdD, director of World View Studies who helped write the grant.

With the Capacity-Building Grant, Wendt Center staff will use the 2024-2025 academic year to develop a cohesive and integrated model of character development and social-emotional learning across campus to enhance understanding of character and emotional intelligence among faculty, staff, and students.

"To establish this framework, we will explore existing models, scholarly research, and professional development opportunities," Funke said. "We will also review and update programs like the BeWell curriculum that was piloted in Fall Semester 2023 with faculty and staff, incorporating social-emotional learning and mindfulness to align with character education... By focusing on the whole person, we aim to create an integrated action model that will guide the programming of the Wendt Center. Through this strategic collaboration and evidence-based practices, this initiative will significantly enhance the character and emotional well-being of our faculty, staff, and students."

Additionally, as the Wendt Center revisits its character framework, part of the ECI grant will allow staff to draft an application for the ECI Institutional Impact Grant.

"Investing time in developing our new framework, expanding our knowledge, engaging with the campus community, crafting an Institutional Impact Grant, and revisiting existing programs will significantly enhance the Wendt Center's capacity to educate on character more effectively, clearly, and meaningfully as we move forward," Funke said.

The mission of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University is to inspire, educate, and empower leaders of character to serve humanity. Through innovative teaching, creative programming, and cutting-edge research, the program aims to transform the lives of students, foster an inclusive culture of leadership and character, and catalyze a broader public conversation that places character at the center of leadership. The Educating Character Initiative was created to support a wider community of individuals and institutions to educate character within colleges and universities.