The Catholic University of America (CUA) has received a $1 million Institutional Impact grant from the Educating Character Initiative (ECI) to expand programs designed to cultivate virtue in students.

CUA’s project, the Virtue and Character Initiative, is one of 24 projects among 29 schools receiving the grant. Aimed at supporting character education in colleges and universities, ECI is part of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University, a liberal arts university based in North Carolina.

“This grant provides the university with a unique opportunity to more deeply integrate the learning — and living — of virtue across campus, providing all undergraduates knowledge and practices that will benefit them throughout their lives,” CUA president Peter Kilpatrick said in a Aug. 7 press release.

ECI is awarding grants this year from $100,000 to $1 million to colleges and universities with “outstanding proposals for developing the moral, civic, and/or intellectual character and capacity of faculty, staff, and students,” according to its website.

The Institutional Impact grants, totalling $15.6 million this year, went to public and private schools across the nation, including Harvard University and the University of Notre Dame.

“We are thrilled to see the creativity and commitment of so many colleges and universities who want to educate character at such a critical time in our society,” said Michael Lamb, the executive director of the Program for Leadership and Character, in an Aug. 7 press release.

“Character education is not one-size-fits all, so we’re excited to learn from the initiatives that this impressive group of institutions will undertake,” he added.

CUA plans to use the resource to develop an online catalog of resources and to bring character education into its classes. The online catalog, designed for faculty and staff, will have materials that other universities, both secular and religious, may access.

“We are excited to formalize and expand our work on forming our students in virtue to the entire undergraduate population of Catholic University in a way that can then be shared further across all of higher education,” said Andrew Abela, project lead and dean of the Busch School of Business.

“Virtue and character formation are central to the dialogue between faith and reason and, therefore, our identity as the nation’s and the bishops’ Catholic university,” Kilpatrick continued. “These concepts have long been incorporated into courses and research, and are central to programs such as campus ministry.”

Catholic University undergraduate students take a minimum of 12 credit hours in philosophy and theology, while courses in business, psychology, nursing, and other areas incorporate “virtue-based exercises,” the press release noted. Exercises include character reflection, a “virtue diary,” and reflections on patient care experiences.

The university plans to incorporate these practices into other courses to reach every undergraduate student. The project is set to be implemented in fall 2025, with planning taking place throughout this coming academic year.

Other institutions receiving grants include Hope College, Purdue University, Seattle Pacific University, U.S. Naval Academy, University of California-Berkeley, and University of Pennsylvania. Funds from the Lilly Endowment contributed to the ECI grant program this year.