Gonzaga Faculty Secure National Grant for Character Education
Gonzaga University has been awarded a $366,169 Institutional Impact Grant titled "Pietas: Building Jesuit Character" from the Educating Character Initiative (ECI), a project of The Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. Gonzaga's project will unfold over the next three years, weaving character formation into life on campus through initiatives including the Class Fellows program, faculty workshops, strengthened ties between Student Affairs and Academics, and a lecture series centered on ethical dialogue.
Gonzaga’s project is one of 44 projects to receive an Institutional Impact Grant from ECI in 2026. The grant was secured by principal investigator (PI) Shannon Dunn, professor of religious studies, along with co-PIs Kevin Vander Schel, Joe Mudd, and Kent Porterfield.
For Dunn, the grant formalizes work that is already underway here.
"Character formation is another way of talking about becoming people for others, which is a central part of our Mission," she says. "It’s the ‘how’ of that practice.”
The grant will benefit students, faculty and staff. In its first year, students will be invited into conversation through community dinners featuring guest speakers on character education, alongside new extra-curricular programming in community-engaged learning, residence halls and University Ministry.
"We hope to reach as many students as possible," Dunn says, adding the goal is for students to leave Gonzaga better able to "understand and intentionally demonstrate character traits like discernment, resilience, courage and solidarity."
A community dinner will kick off this work on Monday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. Betsy Barre, assistant provost and executive director of the Center for Advancement of Teaching at Wake Forest University, will lead an interactive presentation called "Leading by Example: Modeling the Virtues of Democratic Deliberation." Barre's talk will explore how Gonzaga's identity as a Catholic, Jesuit, humanistic university uniquely positions it to practice the kind of character education "necessary for democracy to thrive," Dunn says.
This grant arrives at a pivotal moment for both Gonzaga and the broader landscape of higher education.
“The way forward requires a return to our roots, our Jesuit tradition of character” explains Dunn, “but in a way that is living, dynamic and responsive to the particular challenges of our moment.”
She credits the team behind the proposal, including Vander Schel and Mudd in Religious Studies, Mysti Reneau, director of Sponsored Research & Programs, Vice Provost of Student Affairs Kent Porterfield, Professor Jeff Dodd and Professor Ann Ciasullo.
“These are talented and determined colleagues,” she says. “They ensure the University fulfills its promises to students and lives its Mission.”
Vander Schel notes the competitive nature of the grant on a national scale makes it particularly significant for Gonzaga to have been chosen. He, like Dunn, points to the work that has already been in the works – distinctive new initiatives and programs and the commitment of faculty and staff.
"This grant affirms the University's focus, not just on what skills or proficiencies we're giving students,” he says, “but on who they will become."
Faculty, staff, or students interested in getting involved and ensuring this proposal fulfills its goals can contact Shannon Dunn at dunns@gonzaga.edu.