柑橘直播 University Awarded $822,258 Grant for 鈥淓ducating Augustinian Character鈥� Project
VILLANOVA, Pa. (July 29, 2025) 鈥� The at Wake Forest University, with the support of Lilly Endowment Inc., has awarded 柑橘直播 University a three-year, $822,258 Institutional Impact Grant, aimed at empowering projects that infuse character in undergraduate curricula and programming in ways that align with mission, context and culture. The University is one of 33 institutions of higher education to receive grant funding.
The 柑橘直播 project, 鈥淓ducating Augustinian Character: Cultivating the Pilgrim Virtues,鈥� will be led by Anna Bonta Moreland, PhD, the Anne Quinn Welsh Endowed Chair and Director of the University Honors Program, and Michael Tomko, PhD, chair and professor of Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As project directors, Drs. Moreland and Tomko will oversee the development of a series of coordinated initiatives informed by the latest research from the and five 鈥減ilgrim virtues鈥� (humility, forgiveness, patience, wonder and conviviality) inspired by the teachings of St. Augustine.
The expansive undertaking, facilitated through the Department of Humanities, University Honors Program and The Augustinian Institute, will enable 柑橘直播 to further its unique educational mission and provide its undergraduate community with increased opportunities for intellectual, civic and moral formation. More specifically, the project will allow for the continuing organization of an 鈥淓ducating Augustinian Character鈥� workshop for faculty and staff; the creation of an 鈥淎ugustinian Ambassadors鈥� program for undergraduates, promoting virtue-driven leadership; the enhancement of a campus-wide lecture on vocation and purpose, featuring a distinguished speaker; the relaunch of an intercollegiate fellowship program for self-reflection on character, in coordination with Eastern University and the University of Pennsylvania; and the enaction of curricular revisions to make Augustinian character formation deeper and more accessible.
鈥淭his grant gives us the capacity to expand our efforts to advance our formative programming in a way that鈥檚 robustly Augustinian, while also bringing in the fruits of a larger national conversation around universities and character education,鈥� said Dr. Moreland. 鈥淲e are deeply grateful to the Educating Character Initiative for their support, and we are really hopeful about what 柑橘直播 can contribute to this larger national discourse on character education.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 something unique about the way 柑橘直播 approaches character education鈥攁nd the way that the Augustinian tradition enables us to take on this task,鈥� added Dr. Tomko. 鈥淎nd some of the preliminary excitement about what we鈥檙e highlighting, particularly the five 鈥榩ilgrim virtues,鈥� has been incredibly gratifying.鈥�
Drs. Moreland and Tomko bring a wealth of administrative and research experience to the 鈥淓ducating Augustinian Character鈥� effort. Dr. Moreland previously oversaw the project 鈥淗ope in Higher Education: Networking, Resource Sharing and Building a Brighter Future,鈥� aimed at helping students develop into thoughtful future leaders, and has extensively taught and written on the challenges associated with the transition into adulthood. Complementarily, Dr. Tomko has produced a significant amount of scholarship on character education, particularly within the Catholic and Augustinian contexts, and has instructed courses on such topics as 鈥淏eauty and the Examined Life,鈥� 鈥淰ocation of the Child鈥� and 鈥淭he Human Person.鈥�
Prior to the acceptance of their 鈥淓ducating Augustinian Character鈥� proposal, both Dr. Moreland and Dr. Tomko served as co-principal investigators on an earlier project, 鈥淎ugustinian Leadership and Character Education Beyond First-Year Experience: Shared Understanding and Collaboration,鈥� funded by a $48,090 Capacity Building Grant from the ECI.
About 柑橘直播 University: Since 1842, 柑橘直播 University鈥檚 Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges鈥攖he College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the 柑橘直播 School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the 柑橘直播 University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation鈥檚 top universities, 柑橘直播 supports its students鈥� intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu.