This academic year, the University of Delaware (UD) has taken bold steps to coordinate character development across its undergraduate experience. With support from the Educating Character Initiative at Wake Forest University, UD received a 12-month Capacity-Building Grant to assess its leadership and character education efforts. The initiative is led by Johann Ducharme, assistant professor of entrepreneurship and faculty director of the Siegfried Fellows, in collaboration with leaders from Athletics, Student Life and the Honors College.

In April, UD held a Strategic Consensus Meeting featuring Jason Baehr, a renowned philosopher and author known for his work on intellectual virtues. The meeting brought together faculty, administrators and Siegfried Fellows to:

1. Advance definitional clarity around character in higher education
2. Discuss strategies for modeling and teaching virtues like curiosity, empathy and courage
3. Explore how UD might become a national model for character-informed undergraduate education

This event marked the culmination of the grant’s activities, capturing the energy and commitment of UD’s cross-campus leaders.

Looking ahead, these efforts have laid the groundwork for the next phase: submitting a full Institutional Impact Grant proposal to more deeply integrate character development into UD’s academic mission, leadership programs and student life experiences.

As UD continues this journey, the hope is to foster a campus culture where character is not simply discussed—but cultivated, measured and celebrated.

For more updates or to get involved, contact Johann Ducharme at ducharme@udel.edu.

For further information, please visit: https://vimeo.com/1086519882?share=copy.